City Council closes compost site for season

Sigourney, Iowa- The Sigourney City Council has officially closed the city’s compost site for the winter season. At the December 5 city council meeting, the Street and Sanitation staff spoke to the Sigourney City Council, reporting on the need to establish a specific time of the year that the compost site will close for the winter season. Staff initially recommended that that be after the first snowfall of the year. City Clerk Angie Alderson said that in the past, the compost site has closed around the middle part of December.

“Usually it’s like the first Monday after the 15^th[of December],” Alderson said. “That’s what we’ve done in the past,” she added.

Mayor Doug Glandon expressed concern about basing the closure on the first measurable snowfall, as opinions on what is measurable can be different.

“I just think we need to come up with a hard, drop dead date, because what’s measurable to you, doesn’t bother me,” Glandon said.

“We’re not doing them [citizens] any favors by allow them to go down there and get stuck. We might as well just close the thing,” councilmember Randy Schultz added.

The idea to set an annual date of closure came after the Keokuk County area was pummeled by a winter storm that dropped a foot of snow on the area. Staff reported at the meeting that numerous individuals had gotten stuck at the compost site during that snowfall amount.

Ultimately, Schultz made a motion to close the compost site for the winter. The motion was approved on a 4-1 vote, with councilmember William Bender voting no.

The council also heard from the Sigourney 175^thAnniversary Committee. Sigourney’s 175^thanniversary will be celebrated July 3 through July 6 2019. Emily Wohler, who is a member of the 175^thAnniversary committee, said the committee is planning multiple activities over the four-day celebration. The celebration, however, will require some closures and use of city property.

For more on this story and others, catch the December 12 edition of the News-Review.