No resolution of confusion over garbage set-out time

11/1/2006

Toledoans will have to live with some confusion over the legal time for setting out one's trash, after last night's Toledo City Council meeting came and went with no new legislation clarifying the issue.

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner surprised Toledoans, and council, three weeks ago by announcing that, starting Oct. 30, residents would be ticketed $75 if they set their trash out before 8 p.m. the day before pickup - four hours later than the 4 p.m. time previously in effect.

Council members threatened at a public hearing last week to overrule the mayor.

But Council President Rob Ludeman said last night he'd take a wait-and-see approach.

"It's still 4 o'clock in my opinion," Mr. Ludeman said. "We don't have inspectors who work past 4 anyway. I'm going to see how out of the ordinary [enforcement] becomes and monitor compliance."

Officially, the earliest time at which garbage can be put out is now 8 p.m. the day before pickup. Violators can be charged $75 on the first offense and up to $300 for a third offense within one year.

However, after being inundated with hundreds of complaints from senior citizens about the lateness of the new set-out time, Mr. Finkbeiner announced on Oct. 23 that residents could set their garbage out at 5 p.m. October through March and 7 p.m. the rest of the year.

Council members have said they want the administration to enforce the existing law against people who set their trash out days ahead of trash collection, instead of a few hours early.

The mayor said the later set-out time will mean less time for neighborhood streets to be filled with unsightly garbage cans and bags.

In action yesterday, council voted down a request for a "community recreation facility" at 2080 Brookdale Rd. in the Indian Hills neighborhood adjacent to the University of Toledo. The vote was 5 in favor and 7 opposed.

The Toledo Campus Ministry Fellowship wanted to expand its meditation chapel into a student coffee house and activity space.

Council rejected the application after neighbors mounted an intensive lobbying effort. The District 5 councilman, Ellen Grachek, supported the application, saying the church group met the legal requirements for a special-use permit.

She said renovated space for "activities of religious expression" would benefit the neighborhood and the university.

But Councilman Michael Ashford, of District 3, one of those who voted against the permit, said he is supporting the people who already live in the community of single-family homes. "If their concern is our quality of life is going to be threatened, I vote with the neighbors," Mr. Ashford said.

Also, council approved a resolution strongly urging the city's development department to require businesses that get a city tax incentive to advertise job openings with The Source, the Lucas County "one-stop employment center."

Council rejected a tougher version that would have required companies that receive tax incentives to obtain entry-level workers through The Source after the city law department said such a requirement could not be enforced.

Contact Tom Troy at:

tomtroy@theblade.com

or 419-724-6058.