From May 14th through the 16th, the City of Osceola is participating in their annual Spring Clean-up Days. This is an annual event that offers the community the opportunity to clear out waste and miscellaneous junk from their properties and to help keep the community beautiful.
All Osceola residents are encouraged to participate in the clean-up, even if it’s as simple as getting rid of discarded building materials or as substantial as disposing of old furniture or junk appliances.
Those participating will need to bring the items they wish to dispose of to the Clarke County Fairgrounds at 2070 W McLane Street in Osceola between 8:30 AM and 6:30 PM on May 14th, 15, or 16th. A City of Osceola utility bill or a copy showing the resident’s name and address will be required at the site before discarding of any materials.
Items Acceptable to Drop Off:
- Couches, chairs, and household furniture
- Carpet
- Appliances, metal computers, and monitors
- Wood material, doors and door frames, windows, siding, drywall, and flooring (no trailer-loads please).
Please avoid bringing yard waste, tires, automotive parts, televisions, or any hazardous materials. These items will need to be collected from the residence by a disposal professional familiar with the material. The city offers bulk pick-up services coordinated with your normal garbage days for such items.
“Timing for the City-wide clean-up couldn’t be better,” said Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator. “With recent City Council updates to our nuisance properly ordinance, this is a great way resolve any potential nuisance issues before they become violations.”
In the May 7th Osceola City Council meeting, an addendum to the nuisance property ordinance was voted on and approved, establishing a fine for those properties that do not take action on abating the issue in a timely manner. While an abatement notice will be sent out and a clean-up timeline set — generally 14-days – to adhere to the request, depending on the level of clean up or work needed, the city will fine residents who do not act on the abatement request within the noted timeframe.
“One thing we’ve heard over and over again is the city needs to enforce ordinances with more consistency and more diligence, “said Mayor Thomas Kedley. “This action by the council puts that request into motion.”
While the council understand some situations require a more flexible timeline, the 14-days is intended to assure action is taken in a positive manner and the abatement requests do not go ignored.
“City staff do try to work with property owners who make good faith efforts to resolve nuisance violations.” said Wheeler. “However, every year it seems like we have more and more violations that require notice. Adding the fine schedule to the nuisance abatement process will allow the City to react in a more timely fashion.”
The Osceola Spring Clean-Up Days is an annual event, but both the Mayor and City Administrator emphasized that the City offers bulk item collection year round. All residents need to do is reach out to City Hall to coordinate collection of large items.
If you have questions about the Spring Clean-up or the recent addendum to the nuisance ordinance, please reach out to Osceola City Hall at 115 N Fillmore St, Osceola, IA 50213 or call 641-342-2377.
