Yes, please! Local response on cleanup day / By Martha Knight

Borough council member Eric Button asked and borough residents answered.

Yes, they would like to see a cleanup day conducted in Port Allegany, something along the lines of what is done in other communities in the area.

Button had broached the possibility at a recent Port Allegany Borough Council meeting, and had enlisted media help in encouraging locals to call or email him with their opinions.

Monday night he reported that he had received a good number of responses. Those had been overwhelmingly in favor of providing such an event. Button assured fellow council members that numerous local residents would welcome something that would enable them to get rid of bulky discards and items that are not gathered for recycling or that don’t belong in regular garbage pickups.

Council passed a motion expressing support for a fall cleanup day this year, with future years bringing a spring cleanup day instead. Button pointed out that it is too late to schedule a spring collection this year.

Details need to be worked out, council members agreed. They mentioned cost, who would provide the service, where a drop-off center would be, rules for what waste is acceptable and what is not, and how rules would be reinforced.

Button was asked to continue refining the plan and seeking cost information and sources of service, and to report those findings next month.