Worth officials have decided the village needs to take garbage disposal more seriously.
The Worth Village Board passed an ordinance during its Dec. 3 meeting stipulating that all garbage, refuse and ashes collected must be placed in metal containers with tight-fitting covers. According to the ordinance, the containers must have handles to allow one person to lift and carry them. The capacity of each container must be between 10 and 30 gallons.
The ordinance emphasizes that all refuse containers must remain covered at all times.
Trustee Rich Dziedzic strongly urged the board to introduce the ordinance after receiving complaints about overflowing garbage at some businesses and homes.
“I just want business owners to be accountable for overflowing waste containers,” Dziedzic said at a previous meeting.
Dziedzic also inquired about the availability of a code for rodent control systems. Mayor Mary Werner said the village would explore requiring residents and business owners to comply with such measures.
The ordinance, which was unanimously approved, also mandates that owners of apartment buildings, hotels, rooming houses, or any multiple-family dwellings provide designated containers and a collection service for each family living on the premises. The ordinance is now in effect.
The board also approved an ordinance authorizing the purchase of a vactor combination sewer cleaner vehicle and a lease-financing purchase agreement with a tax-exempt leasing corporation.
Vactor trucks are specialized vehicles that assist with tasks such as sewer and storm drain cleaning, hydro excavation, and industrial cleanup. The Worth Public Works Department requires a vactor combination sewer cleaner vehicle to maintain and operate the village’s utility mains.
Worth, a member of Sourcewell — a cooperative purchasing entity — solicited bids for the truck on the village’s behalf. The board reviewed the results and determined the lowest bid, $535,000 from Donlan Equipment Advisors in Elmhurst, should be approved.
The board also approved an ordinance for a memorandum of understanding between Worth and Arab American Family Services regarding domestic violence intervention and prevention services.
AAFS, an Illinois not-for-profit organization with an office in Worth, provides domestic violence services to communities in the south suburbs. Police Chief Tim Denton noted that the village has a long-standing relationship with AAFS in supporting local victims of domestic violence.
While many victims assisted by AAFS are of Arab descent, the organization also serves women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. AAFS protects the civil rights and liberties of women and supports victims of hate crimes and bigotry.
Additionally, Werner said an agreement was reached for a memorandum of understanding with SEIU regarding reimbursement for public works commercial driver’s license training.