Trending
Faced with a major public backlash, the Fort Dodge City Council has abandoned a plan to do away with the annual curbside collection of junk.
The Public Works Department announced Wednesday afternoon that the curbside collection has been reinstated and will be conducted on April 18, April 25, May 2 and May 9.
That announcement came two days after the majority of City Council members said they were in favor of a plan proposed by City Manager David Fierke in which residents would have to take junk to the regional landfill on a series of Saturday mornings.
News of that plan resulted in numerous calls and emails to elected officials and hundreds of complaints on social media.
"The people spoke out and the council listened," Councilman Dean Hill said Wednesday afternoon.
Hill said he received "quite a few" comments about the proposed change. He said the amount of input he received was comparable to the number of fireworks complaints he received last summer.
Councilwoman Lydia Schuur said switching back to curbside collection is "the smart thing to do."
"Clearly, that's what the public wants," she said.
Schuur said she received eight phone calls and five emails about the change, with all but one person opposed to it.
Councilman Neven Conrad was the only councilmember who said he was opposed to the change during Monday's council meeting. At that time, he said he conducted an informal poll on his Facebook page and found that 80 percent of the people who replied were opposed to the change.
"It was good to see everybody reaching out," he said.
Conrad said public input definitely caused the elected officials to change their minds.
"People really appreciate that service and they want to keep it," he said.
Councilman Jeff Halter said he's never been a fan of the curbside junk collections.
"I think that we failed, that I failed, in communicating what the benefits of the new system would be," he said. "I still believe that the proposal that was suggested on Monday is a better way to do it."
He said about 15 people contacted him about the proposed change. That's more than the number of people who contacted him about the once-controversial rezoning for the new Williams Bend housing development along Williams Drive.
Councilman Dave Flattery said he was OK with the switch back to curbside collection.
"The citizens have spoken," he said. "I didn't realize at the time how important that service is to people."
Councilman Kim Alstott said that he, Hill and Moehnke went to Fierke Wednesday and requested a return to curbside collection.
"I think this is best," he said of the switch back to curbside collection.
Councilman Terry Moehnke said he would like to try a fall cleanup during which people could bring junk to the landfill as was proposed on Monday.
And Hill said he wants the council to have another workshop discussion on the cleanup system. He added that during that workshop he wants to hear citizens explain what will work for them.
While some residents called for Fierke's resignation on social media, council members made it clear that they support the city manager.
"David's done a great job," Moehnke said. "He has the backing of the council. To me, he was doing his job by presenting what he was presenting."
Conrad said Fierke has "been nothing but good for the city."