Mount Vernon asks residents to stop dumping trash in parks

MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon has asked for local residents’ help to clean up the city’s parks as they near the opening day of April 1.

The City wants people to stop using the park’s trash dumpsters and barrels as places to dump household trash.

“We need your help, Mount Vernon,” Tom Hinkle, director of Public Works, said. “It is becoming more frequent that the trash dumpsters and receptacles at the parks are being used for household refuse. Adding household trash to what is already being created at the parks puts the burden on the taxpayers.”

The city’s parks officially open on April 1 every year and remain operational until Nov. 15. Park pavilions host family events, local youths compete in sports leagues, community events are held and large numbers of residents enjoy the parks. The excessive household trash will spoil those activities.

The city barely keeps up with the trash by emptying the dumpsters twice a week. Hinkle noted that going to a three-times-a-week schedule will increase the cost by 50%. That cost comes out of the Parks Department budget, meaning taxpayers’ money earmarked for park improvements instead will be used to clean up other people’s trash.

Jon May, the assistant director of Public Works for Parks and Recreation, asked Mount Vernon residents to only use the barrels and dumpsters in city parks for trash that gets generated in the parks.

The City is asking city residents to help keep trash picked up in the parks, as it helps keep the parks clean and ready for everyone to enjoy.

Mayor Matt Starr emphasized that the recycling bins in parks are not dumping grounds.

“People need to understand that it’s not for trash,” he said. “We have had many people who have just dumped off appliances and dumped off trash, and it costs the taxpayers for us to have to come in and have that removed.”

If local residents see illegal dumping at the city’s parks, they are asked to call the Parks Department at 740-393-9501. Any identifiable information (i.e. license plate number, descriptions and/or photos) is helpful.

“I know people are getting spring cleaning done and they want to do all of that, but we’ve got to be reasonable here and not take advantage of the recycling bins that are out there for recycling only,” Starr said.