Recycling to return on June 3

Curbside recycling pickup will start again in two weeks. 

Portland City Council was updated on the progress of restarting curbside recycling at its meeting Monday.  

East Central Recycling of Muncie is the city’s new trash and recycling provider, both of which will be picked up on residents’ regular trash days starting the week of June 3. 

Recycling bags will be provided for free for residents to place the recyclables in, but they will still be responsible for their own trash bags. Both bags will be picked up at the same time by city employees before being driven to East Central Recycling’s facility in Muncie. 

The city is passing out the green, perforated recycling bags this week, Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman said. 

“We expect to stop by your house and see each one of those, a trash bag and a recycling bag,” he said. 

The new recycling and trash fee of $5.50 will be on the utility bill for June, which is sent out in July and due Aug. 10. It will be listed as a “sanitation fee.” 

The city will no longer offer heavy trash pickup every week after the switch to East Central Recycling, but will have periodic weeks when it will accept the large items such as mattresses or couches. Geesaman said those weeks will be announced to residents. 

Information on where to obtain the recycling bags once the initial supply runs out will be provided at council’s next meeting. 

East Central Recycling handled this year’s clean-up week, which ran May 13 to 17 and resulted in cost savings. 

Last year, the city picked up 145.4 tons of trash, making 40 trips to Jay County Landfill and paying $11,018.95 altogether for the event. 

This year, the city picked up 88 tons of trash, about 40 percent less than last year. Using the new trash trucks purchased earlier this year, employees made 13 trips to the Muncie facility. The city spent $3,611.69 on clean-up week this year, a 67 percent decrease from last year. 

Council was also scheduled to vote on the sale of the Sheller-Globe south building to John Goodhew, but the matter was tabled because Goodhew couldn’t attend the meeting. A vote to sell the property at council’s last meeting failed. 

In other business, council members Judy Hedges, Bill Gibson, Judy Aker, Michele Brewster, Kent McClung and Don Gillespie, absent Janet Powers: 

•Heard from Geesaman that he expects to have an update on cleaning up the nature trails at Hudson Family Park at park board’s June meeting. He said he is asking local businesses for financial support. 

•Learned that Portland Municipal Airport will be hiring its own mowers instead of having street department employees mow the property. Council amended the city’s payroll ordinance to add a section for part-time labor for the airport. 

•Voted to pay for its share of the Portland Rockets mural in progress on the side of The Ritz Theatre with money from the economic development income tax promotion fund. It decided to contribute $10,000 toward the project in April. 

•Were reminded that Portland Water Park will be opening Saturday. 

•Approved a state revolving loan fund payment of $12,958 to Jones and Henry for continued work on the wastewater treatment plant. 

•Approved Geesaman’s appointment of Dave Teeter to Portland Redevelopment Commission. Teeter replaces Joel Roberts. 

•Were told that Jay! Region, which is a Stellar Communities finalist, had its first organizational meeting with state officials and representatives from Ball State University’s Indiana Community Institute on Monday. Jay! is made up of Jay County and all its municipalities. 

•Thanked the Plant, Hoe and Hope Garden Club, Jay County High School students and street department for planting flowers in downtown Portland last week.