Free dirt

And its totally free

“The moon belongs to everyone
The best things in life are free
The stars belong to everyone
They gleam there for you and me”

“The flowers in spring
The robins that sing
The sunbeams that shine
They're yours, they're mine”

“And love can come to everyone
The best things in life are free”

“The Best Things in Life Are Free” by the Ink Spots

You know the old saying, “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch”? Well, right here in the City of Lakes we got something that is free. Granted, it's dirt. But it's free dirt all the same.

Since the end of April, the city compost and brush site has been open for business on a limited basis. Just like last year, city residents may bring their grass clippings, leaves and small brush to the site at no cost to tax payers. All that is required is a driver's license or a water bill that proves you are indeed a city resident. That's about all of the “Open Sesame” you're gonna need.

Ah, springtime in Wisconsin

A lot of us remember the days when the site was open 24-7 and ran pretty much on an honor system. The May 2 Blizzard of 2013 changed all of that. In the aftermath of the storm, every tree cutting service in the area began dumping truck load after truck load of downed trees, brush and stumps the size of truck tires in our back yard. It was open season and we were ground zero for the clean-up efforts in this part of the county. What's the harm in that? Well, if you recall, the resulting brush pile grew to an unmanageable size. Why not just burn it? The DNR would not allow us to so in the end to alleviate the risk of fire the City had to pay thousands of dollars in unbudgeted money to have it hauled away. A big deal had become an even bigger deal and led to the creation of the system we have in place today.

He really is a friendly guy

While this was before my time here at City Hall, the way it has been explained to me is that in 2014 the city operated without a compost site. In 2015, we reopened the place with the site being manned a few days a week in the spring and fall and every other Saturday during the summer months. Christian Watts is an affable young man and is the gatekeeper to the site. He works for minimum wage and is a credit to our town the way he politely checks residents in as they come to drop off their yard waste. Last week when I asked him how things were going he quickly replied, “Wonderful” with no sarcasm implied.

I know some of us in town wish we would go back to the “old” way of doing things when people could just come and go at their convenience. A few of said as much to me so I thought I would do a little research and learn how our neighbors handle this matter and this is what I learned:

• Barron:They have a no-fee brush site with no posted hours. According to the woman I spoke with you can dump small brush and leaves but no bags are allowed and no grass clippings whatsoever (but how they police that is not clear to me). Director of Public Works Dan Knapp shared with me how he got a phone call from Barron's public works guy just this morning inquiring about contractors who are working in the area as apparently someone dropped off some mighty big trees recently that he believes is related to the storm the other day. Hmmmm....

• Bloomer: The “Jump Rope” city to our south has a compost site that is open 24-7 and that is strictly on the honor system. They'll take leaves, brush and grass clippings no charge. According to the person I spoke with they were pretty confident that abuse is minimal and the system seems to be working. I wonder if their city shop guys feel the same?

• Cameron:Unlike Barron, Bloomer or Cumberland, The Village of Cumberland's website displays the following announcement prominently on their home page:

SPRING CLEAN-UP DAY

VILLAGE OF CAMERON

The Village of Cameron spring clean-up day will be held Saturday, May 14th, 2016, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Dumpsters will be set up in the vacant lot just North of the Library and Cameron Auto Body. E-Waste and white goods will be collected at no charge. Brush, leaves and household items will be accepted. Proof of residency will be required (tax statement – water bill – driver license). NO CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS OR TIRES WILL BE ACCEPTED.  Anyone found dropping items off early may be subject to a fine.

I think one of any municipality's goal should be disseminating what information its citizens need to know. I think knowing where to dump your yard refuse should be included in that. And yet Cameron and Chetek are the only two municipalities that have this kind of information posted on their website.

What I had to find out by phone, however, is the unique system the Village has in place for its residents. First, their site is only open on the first Friday of every month. Second, in order to dump there you have to stop in at the village hall, get a key for the gate and sign a form. Third, the site is only open during office hours which is not very convenient if you don't get home until after 4 p.m. And finally, you may not leave any bags there, compost ones included.

• Cumberland: The “Island City” also has a compost site which, like Bloomer's, is run on an honor system and essentially accessible 24-7. And just like the person I spoke with at Bloomer's City Hall, I was assured that the privilege was not being abused. What is unique to them, however, is the fee for making sure the compost site remains accessible is passed on to the tax rolls to the tune of $3-$4,000 a year.

A few after hours folks don't know how to read

When I asked Dan about how crazy it would be to return to the pre-2013 site conditions, he replied, in so many words, “very.” Unfortunately, despite the signage to the contrary, far more than brush was dumped off in years' past – appliances, couches, tires and the like were often left and clearly they are not biodegradable. As I've been reminded by more than a few city residents, based on what some people leave at the two recycling bins – TVs, stereos and what-not – how could you trust people to abide by the rules when some clearly have not abided by them in the past? Apparently, last summer one of the issues that arose is some contractors entered the compost site illegally after hours by coming down Hochmayr Drive (near Parker-Hannafin) and then drove their truck down an ATV trail to unload their stuff and a lot of that was construction material (see the picture). Unfortunately, a few bad eggs ruin it for everyone else.

I recognize the limited operating hours is an inconvenience but based on what other municipalities are offering, I think we're doing the best we can with the limited resources we have to work with. Dan assured me that providing that a water main wasn't breaking somewhere in town or some other emergent event, the guys would come through on the last week of every month and pick up brush for those with no ability of their own to haul it to the site. Again, it's not what we used to have but something is definitely better than having nothing at all. Christian will be there to greet you in a friendly manner and he'll direct you where to dispose of your waste. What's more, if you're in a need of some good, fresh dirt for your garden or your flower boxes we got that a plenty and you're welcome to it. My mother loved listening to her collection of records by the Ink Spots when she was in college back in the 50s and like those boys used to sing some of the best things in life truly are free, good composting soil among them.

The sign is presently down in need of being updated

The City of Chetek's Compost and Brush site receives small brush, grass clippings and leaves and you can even leave them in the compost bags you collected them in. Check out the schedule at the city's website City of Chetek or on our Facebook page (City of Chetek)