There have been a number of recent posts on local social media complaining about the implementation of vouchers for the April 24 Sapulpa Citywide Cleanup Day, which requires residents to obtain the voucher in-person at City Hall. The previous policy was to bring a water bill to the dumpsite.
One resident voiced her opposition because she did not feel comfortable going to City Hall to obtain the voucher in light of the pandemic. Others simply thought it was an unnecessary inconvenience.
Sapulpa Times contacted the City of Sapulpa and spoke to Mike Hoehner with the Sapulpa Utility Department to find out the reason for the new requirement.
Apparently, in the past few years, people have abused the free service offered by the City.
According to Hoehner, “It gets too hard to control out there to find out who lives in the City and who doesn’t. We’ve got to make sure it is only the citizens of Sapulpa that are utilizing it. It’s just starting to cost the City too much money. This is a way we can control it.” He said the City understands that there is a pandemic, but emphasized that everyone is required to wear a mask inside City Hall, and that there is a glass partition between the clerk and customer, therefore it would be safer than a City employee going from car to car to verify driver’s licenses.
Another problem has been businesses taking advantage of the cityside cleanup. Hoehner told Sapulpa Times that “the same vehicles full of commercial refuse showed up every free dump day. It’s supposed to be for residential customers, not for commercial people to make money or save money.”
Hoehner reiterated that the City understood citizens’ displeasure, but this change was necessary to keep the program going. “We’re not trying to keep people out…in the long run, it’s going to enable us to keep doing this. Because the way we were operating was getting too out of hand and overwhelming.” He said that the City was willing to work with people.
If anyone has a problem obtaining a voucher or has further questions, Hoehenr suggested calling City Hall and speaking to the Utility Department.
