irk Boxleitner

kboxleitner@ptleader.com

One neighborhood’s ongoing journey toward a “spring cleaning” for its streets has yielded lessons that other communities can follow.

“I ride my bicycle along Oak Bay Road regularly and see trash – glass and plastic bottles, cans, six-pack containers, plastic bags – scattered along the roadside and in the ditches all the time,” Port Ludlow resident Steve Frenzl said. “It’s worst from the Port Ludlow Village Store out to Highway 19. It looks like a trash dump, especially during the winter months, when grass and weeds don’t cover the debris.”

Frenzl spoke with Jefferson County Commission chair Kathleen Kler about the issue, asking how best to proceed.

“I was going to volunteer personally to pick it up, but she suggested other methods, including local- and county-level community service projects,” Frenzl said.

Although other priorities intervened, Frenzl was reminded of the issue this February, when a friend reported spotting a similar buildup of trash along Paradise Bay Road.

When Frenzl attended the March 13 county commissioners meeting, they expressed safety and liability concerns. County Administrator Philip Morley recommended that Frenzl contact Monte Reinders, Jefferson County Public Works director and engineer, for further guidance and assistance.

Frenzl and his fellow Port Ludlow residents are still hashing out the details of what Frenzl has branded an upcoming “Trash Bash” event, to organize volunteer cleanup crews and possibly reward them with a barbecue meal at the end of a day’s labors.

“Nobody in Port Ludlow seems to remember what the Trash Bash was like 10 years ago,” Frenzl said. “Turns out what was thought to be a similar project in North Bay was not, so I ended up in a dead end.”

Frenzl is interested in implementing such cleanups on a quarterly basis, but he and his fellow event planners are still coordinating with Reinders and other county officials about how to conduct such a project properly, to be in compliance with any applicable regulations.

Michelle Ham, the Hadlock shop administrator for the county’s Public Works and Fleet Services, noted that the county doesn’t put stipulations on when or how often such cleanup events can occur.

“As this is a volunteer program, we understand weather and time dictates scheduling,” Ham said. “When a group wants to hold a cleanup event, they should contact this office to schedule it and make arrangements to pick up safety gear provided by the county.”

Ham added that this is typically done by the group’s designated coordinator, who would also make sure that all the safety gear is used during the event, in addition to disposing of the trash collected and returning the safety gear and required group paperwork to the Public Works Department.

Ham explained that each new group is asked to designate at least one group coordinator, to serve as Public Works’ point of contact. Coordinators would need to agree to a background check and to certain contracted terms.

“As a coordinator, they would be the ones to schedule cleanup events with the department and make arrangements to pick up safety gear – such as signs, cones and vests – plus trash bags and litter grabbers,” Ham said. “At the cleanup event, the coordinator would be responsible for making sure that all volunteers are wearing their safety equipment and that signs are placed along the road for the traveling public.”

While performing their volunteer labor, those volunteers are covered under Labor & Industry laws that, as Ham pointed out, require Public Works to file reports of those who participated and the hours they worked.

“We ask the coordinator to return this sign-in sheet when the safety gear is returned to the department,” Ham said. “All trash collected is disposed of at the Jefferson County Landfill at no charge, with a pass given to the group coordinator prior to the cleanup event. And as an active group, the county acknowledges them with a sign placed on the road.”

Ham has received inquiries from residents who collect trash on their daily walks, and have expressed interest in either leaving the trash along the road for pickup, or being given permission to dump for free without being part of a coordinated group.

“Unfortunately, we can’t accommodate this, as it’s a liability issue, and we have to report the hours volunteered, plus monitor the amounts of trash disposed of at the landfill.”

For further details, contact Ham at 385-0890, ext. 701, or mham@co.jefferson.wa.us.