Stafford addresses kiosk dumping

Kiosk collection centers meant for good have caused problems throughout the city with many being used for dumping products unrelated to its intended use.

Navasota City Manager Brad Stafford addresses the concern citizens have about the kiosks and how citizens can help alleviate the problem.

Hear what other community-submitted questions are asked by Navasota Examiner Publisher Ana Cosino and Willy 98.7 FM Radio Personality Kenny Graves in this week’s edition.

Highlights from Grilling

Stafford – episode 66

The donation drops off kiosk at Brookshire Brothers and the OReilly’s parking lot, is there a permit to have those placed or does it just require owner permission? The one at the OReilly parking lot is disgusting and really needs to be cleaned. “We don’t have a permit for those. We do struggle with those and we try to make sure to contact people that set them because they do get very nasty, I agree that one is bad. Our code enforcement has to spend a lot of time on that. Our citizens could help us out tremendously by not placing their goods there. We do have ways to track who puts stuff out and if we find out that it’s you we can issue a citation. So, people need to think before they place things on the side of those kiosks. We have talked about permitting and I think we’re going to have to revisit that again because it seems to be getting worse. It looks to me like people are using them as a dump site rather than a donation site. To all the citizens, those are not dump sites. People don’t want your junk. If you have something that’s a value and want to donate that’s fine, but don’t dump debris.”

Do the same rules apply for dumpsters as they apply for residential trash containers if the trash does not fit in the container - it cannot be placed on the side? “Yes, the same rules apply. Do not place garbage or anything on the side of a dumpster because they will not pick that up. It is your responsibility to dispose of that.”

When is railroad street going to open? “I don’t have the answer, but hopefully really soon. Our staff met with the contractors this week and the engineers. They are still waiting for a couple of items to come in and we’re still waiting on the phone company. CenturyLink has slow-played this project. We’re still waiting on them to place those lines underground even though the city spent the money to put the conduit in for them, they have still not buried those lines. Our biggest hold up is CenturyLink.”

Are there restrooms at the city public parks? If so, are they open to the public? “So, we only have a couple of locations that have public restrooms. August Horst, Mance Lipscomb and Cleveland Street Park have public restrooms. The one at Cleveland Street Park has been vandalized so many times it’s not operable anymore at all. The one at Mance Lipscomb Park will probably be demolished eventually because people don’t take care of it, so we’re going to have to take care of business that way. And at Mance Lipscomb we are still struggling to get some of the plumbing repaired from the winter freeze. We’re working to get the restrooms at August Horst Park reopen to the public. As citizens, pay attention to the facilities, those are your facilities and if someone is damaging the facility call the police department. Don’t let people damage things and get away with it because you’re paying for it.”

Are the sidewalks on Laredo from Millican to Piedmont going to be incorporated into the pedestrian plan? “I can’t remember, there are so many sidewalks on that map. It would be great if this person would submit an email to Rayna Willenbrink here at the city requesting it be added to the pedestrian plan; I will submit it as well.”

To view the full video of Grilling Stafford – Episode 66, or to watch archived episodes, visit The Examiner website, www.navasotaexaminer.com. If you would like to submit a question for Grilling Stafford, email news@navasotaexaminer.com. New episodes of Grilling Stafford are released every Thursday.