ML Parks and Rec announces chipping-shredding program

Starting May 1, city department will tour the city collecting unwanted tree limbs and brushes

Moses Lake Parks and Rec director Spencer Grigg has another reason to feel chipper.

He has announced the unveiling of a free tree and brush chipping and shredding program, which will collect unwanted brush, tree limbs and trimmings from people's curbs, and which he said will help Moses Lake and its citizens in a number of ways, from law compliance to cost savings and safety.

To put the program in place, the city had to get its hands on its own $26,000 chipper/shredder. The machine, paid with money from the city sanitation fund will "dramatically reduce" the amount of organic material shipped to the county landfill, Grigg said.

Grigg said the idea of buying a chipper-shredder for the city came up during this year's city council retreat. The deciding factor came from farther away.

"Every year we have our crews trim the trees, take the brush and limbs to an isolated location and we burn them," he said. "This year, the state department of Ecology came up with new clean-air laws and standards for the disposal of that stuff. That forced our hand."

Among the options there was the possibility of taking the material to the county landfill, but, as Grigg said, "it's not a good idea to take organic material to the landfill." Hence, the need for the city to develop its own program.

During a time of tightened belts, people might frown at spending $26,000 on a purchase of aesthetic purposes. However, Grigg said the purchase might save the city some money.

"One of the pieces of the puzzle is the new clean-air rules of the DOE," he said. "The rules have changed, so we are partially doing this to comply."

Until now, the city had rented a chipper and shredder, and this is the first year that parks and rec is running its own show with its own equipment. "We'll do the best we can," Grigg said.

Grigg added that the city spent "nearly, if not more" the purchase amount renting a chipper-shredder each year, to do the exact same thing the city's own machine will do.

In addition, Grigg said that when the machines were rented, sometimes other maintenance situations came about, demanding that crews stop working on the chipper to take care of them. This cost the city additional rent money.

When the city rented a machine, it was rarely the same chipper all the time. Hence, crews had to educate themselves on how to use it each time a different unit was rented, increasing the risk for accidents.

All these problems Grigg hopes will be solved with the city owning its own chipper. "We can use it whenever the opportunity arises," he said.

The way the program will work is, starting on May 1, the parks and rec maintenance crews will split the city in three parts, dedicating one week to each.

Week One starts the first day of the program, covering the Peninsula area, from South Western and Milwaukee to I-90. The following week will cover from the portion of Montlake south of Eighth Avenue to the I-90 bridge west of Pioneer Way.

The third week will cover Lakeview and Hayden States, from the south of Wheeler Road to Highway 17, east of Pioneer. It will cover Knolls Vista, Basin Homes, Longview Tracts, and the area from East Stratford Road to the intersection of Crestview and Paxson.

Grigg said that the time it may take to cover each portion may vary depending on citizen participation. Therefore, he recommends people put out their stacked brush, trimmings and tree limbs early.

"It may take us two days to go through an area, so if you put your stuff out on the third day, guess what?" Grigg said. "We won't be there to pick it up."

Even if this happened, Grigg said, the city has set a date for what he calls "bring it to us" day. On May 22, the city will accept brush, trimmings and tree limbs at the Lower Peninsula Boat Launch.

Grigg is emphatic in stating that this program is not a chance for people to dump their lumber, nails, lawn clippings, dirt or garbage on the city. Tree trimmings and brushes must be four inches in diameter or less. Despite these restrictions, he encouraged city participation in a program he said will help better maintain the city's parks.

"There's nothing wrong with living in a beautiful city," he said.