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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Wanted: Trash police

Ely sees surge in illegal dumping

Keith Vandervort
Posted 6/23/16

ELY – The city of Ely is referred to as the “Canoe Capital” of the World, and the city at the “end of the road.” A new nickname may well be in the works. “Trashiest City in the North.” …

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Wanted: Trash police

Ely sees surge in illegal dumping

Posted

ELY – The city of Ely is referred to as the “Canoe Capital” of the World, and the city at the “end of the road.” A new nickname may well be in the works. “Trashiest City in the North.” Or “Garbage Dump USA” might be appropriate.

The St. Louis County Recycling Center at the edge of town, as well as the trash cans in the city’s parks, are being used as personal garbage dumps, according to Clerk-Treasurer Harold Langowski, and he wants that to end.

“This has been my favorite topic over the years,” Langowski said as he showed City Council members photographs and described the increasing amount of garbage and hazardous materials abandoned in inappropriate areas.

“It actually got so bad about seven years ago that we had to close the old (county recycling) site and move it,” he said. “We are starting to get to the same point. Its kind of a shame.”

Langowski said the garbage issue is mostly non-existent in winter months. “In the spring and summer when we see an increase in the number of visitors, and seasonal residents returning, the place turns into a garbage dump.”

The county recycling center is in operation for the disposal of recyclable materials like plastics, bottles, newspapers and leaves and brush.

Langowski showed a photograph of one of the recycle bins that was obscured by trash. “It looks like someone cleaned out their garage or basement and pretty much opened the end of the bin and filled it with garbage,” he said.

St. Louis County officials recently notified the city of the increasing problem. “Obviously, the county doesn’t want to haul the garbage to their sorting facility. It costs the county money to landfill all that,” he said.

“If this continues, they want us to close our recycle center,” Langowski warned. The closest recycle center to Ely is on Highway 21, halfway to Babbitt. Another site is located just outside of Soudan on Highway 169.

Langowski continued to describe the recent squalor created by the illegal dumping. “Last Friday, there were six cases of old paint, aerosol cans, florescent light tubes, a car battery, and five-gallon cans of who-knows-what left there.”

County workers struggle during the summer months to keep up with swapping out the filled recycle bins with empty ones, according to Langowski. The Ely site’s gate was locked on Friday because the bins had reached capacity. When county workers showed up Saturday morning, someone had left a cardboard sign that said, “Dump your garbage here,” and that’s what people did, he said.

He stressed that the issue doesn’t get out of hand until the warmer months. “Some people may just not care, but it is abuse,” he said. “This is not meant for household garbage.”

An organization, called Elder Circle, provides employees to be attendants while the recycling center is open. Langowski said the individual at the Ely site has been absent because of health issues. “We have contacted Elder Circle to find another attendant but have not had any luck,” he wrote in a memo to the council. That person typically works 20 hours per week.

Langowski suggested installing high-resolution security cameras at the recycling site as a way to deter people from dumping their trash illegally.

Council member Albert Forsman suggested live-streaming recycling center security cameras to the city’s local access television service. “We could have a trash channel,” he said, “and people can watch who is dumping their garbage.”

Langowski said the dumping trash is illegal and people can be cited for the behavior. “The recycle center is within the city limits and within the jurisdiction of the city’s Police Department, he said. “I guess that’s the end of my rant.”

Council member Heidi Omerza wished to continue the rant. “Our city cleanup day was held just about a month ago, and the county just had a hazardous waste collection day here in Ely last Thursday. This is very frustrating,” she said.

Langowski suggested residents self-police the recycling site. “When the gate is closed and you see someone dumping there, just call 911,” he said. “We still have people who are upset that we took away the 24/7 access at the old recycling site.” The recycling center is open 40 hours per week, with staggered hours over five days. Hours of operation can be found on the city’s website.

He said St. Louis County is investigating more visible sites for the recycling center around the Ely area. “The county has recycling sites all over the county and they tell me that don’t have the illegal dumping problem like they have here in Ely,” he said.

Langowski also discussed the increasing problem of household garbage being dumped into trashcans in Whiteside Park and on Sheridan Street. “As people have noticed, we put out more trash cans to help clean up our city,” he said. “As soon as we empty the cans and pull away, there will be pick-up trucks pulling up and people stuffing their trash into the bins.”

There is no city ordinance in place to enforce the unwanted practice of dumping household trash in city garbage cans. “The police have no teeth to enforce this,” Langowski said. “The City Council needs to decide if we want to allow this to continue or pass an ordinance concerning this issue.”

Other business

In other business, the council:

• Directed city staff to draft an ordinance allowing ATVs to operate in the city

• Approved the purchase of an additional fuel truck for the airport at a cost of $25,000;

• Accepted the resignation of James Barrot from the Ely Tree Board and accepted his suggestion of Kyle Fairchild as his replacement;

• Agreed to a proposal to move the Pillow Rock to the North American Bear Center at no cost to the city;

• Passed an ordinance amending the City Code to regulate and license billiard halls in the city and agreed to lift the moratorium on such establishments;

• OK’d lifting the rental fee for the use of the Semer’s Park pavilion for a July 16 picnic by AFSCME Local 1490;

• Approved a temporary liquor license for the Ely Jaycees to operate a Beer Garden at the Blueberry Arts Festival, July 29-31;

• Approved a resolution adopting the City of Ely 2016 Land Use and Comprehensive Plan;

• OK’d a resolution supporting the Ely Area Veterans Memorial Project;

• Approved a Wine and Strong Beer Liquor License for Jasper Company at 2 W. Sheridan St. pending proper paperwork.

• Went into closed session with the City Attorney to discuss an agreement on a Reed Road property and the upcoming trial against Luthera Smith.