COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
After years of trying to solve Columbia’s trash problem, the Columbia City Council will once again discuss and vote on undoing the ban on trash collecting roll carts Monday night.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall in the Council Chambers.
On April 5, 2022, council voted to call for a special election where citizens can vote on whether or not to bring back roll carts.
In 2016, voters approved the ban to stop the city from using roll carts for trash collection. Council had the option to undo the ban in April of this year, but voted to leave the decision up to the voters, calling a special election in August.
At the April 18 meeting, council member Matt Pitzer made a motion to give council another chance to reconsider the ban and the special election.
Some citizens argue trash collection would be safer with roll carts, while others argue it will take jobs and cause other issues.
At the city’s last council meeting, they discussed possibly adopting automate trash collection, but said they would need to get through the roll cart ban first.
Monday night, council will also give an update on its American Rescue Plan Act fund spending.
The city had $25 million in ARPA funds to address inequalities exposed by the pandemic, so far the city has spent half.
Council will discuss using the funds for a comprehensive homeless services center, a behavioral crisis center, and towards community violence prevention.
