A landfill operated by the City of Sapulpa at the corner of Line Ave and Mann Street has been a vexation and an embarrassment to residents in the area. This parcel of land is being filled-in for future road construction, linking Line Avenue to Lake Sahoma Road.
Illegal dumping has made this site a blight on the community and as one person put it, “It is simply a disgrace.” A local pastor stated that it was “embarrassing” to have funeral processions pass by this collection of discarded detritus. The landfill is adjacent to the beautiful Hollier Park, baseball fields, and a cemetery. This problem has existed for several years without remediation.
Sapulpa Times spoke to Sapulpa Code enforcement officer Nick Ericksten about the unsightly situation. “It’s people dumping, is what it equates to. That used to be an old city dump, and now some brush debris like limbs and chipped wood will still go in there, but people consistently dump up there.” When asked what was being done to resolve the issue, Ericksten said: “Last I heard they were in talks about getting a camera up there. I can tell you on two occasions I was informed about dumping up there and found personal information, like a person’s name or address they had put amongst the trash.” He stated that in cases like this, the people are contacted about their “criminal activity” and made to come back and pick up the items.
Ericksten went on to say, “At one point we had a City pickup at the site, and somebody still pulled up and dumped something, and then drove away.”
Sapulpa Times also spoke to former Ward 2 Sapulpa City Council member John Anderson about this continuing source of consternation. According to Anderson, he brought this issue up on the behalf of his constituents to the City Manager and was told before he left the council that cameras would be installed.
The property only has a low pipe rail fence and an unlocked gate to keep people out. As it is, it is quite easy to drive up and simply toss something out of a pickup over the railing. Hopefully, a solution can be found to put a halt to the dumping and remove this blemish on our community.
Some good news is that the annual City-wide Spring Clean-Up event will take place on Saturday, April 24th this year from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 8801 West 100th Street. As always, the City will provide residents the opportunity to dispose of unwanted items and debris free of charge, however, this year there are some changes and new stipulations to participate.
This spring, anyone utilizing the clean-up facility must provide a validated voucher before entering.
Vouchers may be obtained at City Hall Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., beginning March 8th through April 23rd.
Those with addresses inside the City limits who have an account in good standing will be allotted one free voucher. Anyone who wishes to make multiple trips will be required to purchase additional vouchers. These are limited to two per account.
Vouchers will not be issued at the clean-up facility; one must obtain them at City Hall during the dates and times listed above.
The fees for extra vouchers are as follows:
Cars, SUVs, pickups, and utility trailers less than 5 feet will cost $10.
Box trucks and trailers 16 feet or less will cost $20.
Dump trailers and trailers over 16 feet will cost $50.
Participants must unload their own debris, and the following are not permitted: tires, TVs, computer monitors, combustible engines of any size, paint or liquids of any kind, shingles, or concrete.
Further, mattresses and box springs must be arranged in a manner that they may be unloaded first or last, and not mixed with the other debris.
