Munson Township trucks moved dozens of recycle bins from the north side of the baseball diamonds to the south side May 24 following complaints at the May 23 trustees meeting.
Munson Township trucks moved dozens of recycle bins from the north side of the baseball diamonds to the south side May 24 following complaints at the May 23 trustees meeting.
Shawn McNamara, who lives just north of the recycle center, which is between his house and the Munson Fire Department, loudly voiced his concerns about blowing dust and trash, visiting dogs, property taxes and unresponsive township officials for half an hour.
“I am fed up. I’ve been nice and I haven’t gotten anything done,” McNamara said.
Trustee Jim MCaskey said he had been to McNamara’s property and the situation triggered immediate action.
“It looks terrible,” he said, adding the next day, the township workers double-stacked the bins to improve the view.
Within the month, when dust became a problem, the township treated the gravel access road with a saline solution.
“Those two things were instantly fixed,” McCaskey said, adding more and more people are bringing recycle items to Munson since a couple of other centers in the county have been shut down for similar reasons Munson is facing.
A new recycling center has been opened by Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management at the Geauga County offices at 470 Center Street in Chardon, he said.
One ongoing problem at all the recycle centers is people leaving household trash instead of approved recyclable items in the bins.
McNamara said the trash blows into his yard and his dog picks it up, and his privacy is compromised because people driving by his house can see under the pine tree buffer planted by the township.
A privacy fence would help that, he said.
The issue of people using the parking lot during baseball games was discussed.
“If the containers are gone, we still have an issue with the baseball people,” Trustee Irene McMullin said.
Parking is limited on the south side of the fields, so people use the north lot, but she said she would talk to the baseball league commissioners to see if they can convince people to park south of the fields.
That won’t necessarily affect visiting teams, she said.
“There’s no perfect solution,” McCaskey said.
Several possible locations were discussed. Space by the road department garage was the most popular, but it is wooded and trees can’t be cut down until October because of the state law protecting brown bats.
Trustees and Road Superintendent Jim Teichman agreed a space on the south side of the fields would be the best site for a temporary recycle center.
McNamara asked when the bins will be moved.
“Is tomorrow morning too early?” Teichman asked.
“That’s a big start. I’m very appreciative,” McNamara said.
