Spring cleaning was on the minds of the Perry City Council Monday night when Perry Mayor John Andorf noted several dates to remember, beginning with Wednesday, April 10, when free weekly pick up of yard waste will resume, with service starting on the north side of Willis Avenue.
The full schedule for 2019 yard waste pickups is available online on the Perry website.
All yard waste — except tree, bush or brush materials — should be placed in biodegradable paper yard waste bags, with a maximum weight of 40 pounds, and set near the street curb in front of the residence for collection and disposal by the city. No garbage containers, plastic bags or cardboard boxes will be allowed.
All tree, bush and brush materials are to be bundled and tied in maximum lengths of four feet, with a maximum weight of 40 pounds, and set near the street curb in front of the residence for collection and disposal by the city.
To assure prompt pick-up, place the yard waste at the curb by 7 a.m.
Andorf also noted the date for the second annual community drop-off day for junk and other unwanted rubbish, scheduled for June 1 from 8 a.m. to noon at Pattee Park. The drop-off event replaced the former citywide collection event.
Andorf said the June 1 community drop-off day will also coincide with the annual appliance and scrap metal drop-off event, also located at Pattee Park. The mayor said the city’s free one-week dumpster deal and regular dumpster rentals are also available for spring cleaners.
“That is one concern, quite honestly, that I hear about, especially this time of year,” said Andorf. “Can we get people to clean up their yards? Now is a good time to start for all of us, some more than others.”
Perry City Council member Chuck Schott strongly seconded the mayor’s recommendation to take advantage of the city’s cleanup opportunities.
“Mr. Mayor, you sort of took the words right out of my mouth tonight,” Schott said. “I was at a social gathering last Saturday night with 12 people from the city, and three different individuals during the course of that evening came up to me and said, ‘Chuck, Perry’s really getting trashy. Perry really is starting to look dirty and tired.’ And I couldn’t disagree with them because I feel the same way.”
Schott acknowledged the city’s recently reduced code enforcement due to a vacancy in the city hall staff and the absence of a compliance officer and building official, a position recently filled with the hiring of Scott Kopecky for the job. Schott said backyard cars are harming property values.
“And it’s not just trash. It’s not just junk. It’s cars,” Schott said. “The number of houses that have five or six cars parked in the backyard that haven’t been moved for six months — it’s just amazing. And it’s not fair to the people that are living beside them. It’s not fair to any of us that own houses here in Perry, Iowa, that are property, and values next door to that sort of stuff cannot hold together.”
Schott exhorted his fellow townspeople to clean it up and to help one another clean it up.
“I think we really need to concentrate this spring, all of us, to encouraging everybody to get out, clean up, throw away, make use of all of the wonderful services that Perry offers to these people,” he said. “We try so hard to do for them. And I understand there’s people that have physical problems, that can’t necessarily, you know, but I’ll guarantee you there’s a friend or a neighbor that would help them if they asked. Let’s all encourage everybody to do everything we can this spring to start this movement going in the right direction.”
