Lynn board talks trash in downtown

LYNN – A conversation on Facebook led to some trash talking in City Hall Tuesday when the Central Business District Committee heard concerns about litter in the downtown area.”There were recently two big cleanups in the downtown area and we had some good followup conversations,” said Ward 5 resident and Downtown Association member Seth Albaum. “There are definitely parts of the city that are lacking trash barrels.”Ward 5 Councilor Brendan Crighton, chairman of the CBD, said he called the meeting because he too had heard the complaints.Albaum offered the committee a proposal that would include offering advertising on large trash cans. He favored the Big Belly solar-powered cans, of which the city has six. He said artwork or a logo could go on the other side.”It won’t take care of the whole cost or even the up front cost but over time ? it could be a new source of revenue,” Albaum said.Acting Department of Public Works Commissioner Manuel Alcantara is not a fan of the solar-powered cans.”To me it’s an expensive way to collect trash,” he said.When the city bought six of the environmentally friendly trash cans they cost $3,000 a piece and were funded through a grant. Alcantara said now the cans cost between $5,000 and $6,000 each and they do nothing to lower the cost of trash pickup for the city.Crighton asked if it would cost the city extra to add more barrels on the street. Alcantara said no as long as they are downtown. Barrels added outside the downtown area, on Essex Street or upper Union Street would cost extra, he said. He also cautioned that sometimes adding more trash barrels leads to more trash on the street.”I have 30 ornamental trash cans up behind the cemetery,” he said.He said Community Development asked to have the cans removed when residents and businesses began using them as dumpsters. Alcantara said he is working with Lynn Tech to have students weld lids with smaller openings in them so people can’t use the cans to dump household trash in.”It becomes a trash problem not a litter problem,” he said.Ward 2 resident Jesse Jaeger said the single biggest complaint he hears from residents is there is no place to put trash.”I think we need to start tackling this somehow,” he said.Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano said it is essentially going to boil down to the city making a commitment to deal with the trash issue and spending some money to do so.”There are so many great ideas but without making a serious commitment to funding that’s all it is, is a great idea,” he said.Mary Murray lives just outside the designated downtown area but, as she pointed out, she has three restaurants, a laundromat and other businesses all putting trash out on the street and behind buildings.”We have a new image of rat,” she said. “Somewhere between big and a cat.”Albaum and others agreed trash wasn’t only a downtown problem.Crighton suggested that Alcantara work on getting the new lids in place, talking to Inspectional Services and others about where additional trash cans should be placed and talking to Community Development about the possibility of getting local businesses to sponsor the cans and they would meet again in another month.”Let’s not forget that including the community is about more than just revenue,” Albaum added. “It’s about involving them in the process and getting them to have a stake in the outcome.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].