Recycling Center to receive makeover in coming months

The City Council approved the use of Keno funds to us towards the beautification of the Kimball Recycling Center at their October 17 meeting.

The city awarded $15,000 dollars in Keno funds to the project to revamp the appearance of the exterior of the Recycling Center in hopes to make it appear more attractive to passersby, according to City Administrator Daniel Ortiz.

“It’s more of a beautification project, ensuring that we have concrete put in to make it last longer but also to create a nice aesthetic appeal from the exterior so those people who pass by find it much more appealing physically. With the work that the Recycling Center has done with the mural and all that stuff, it would be a nice amenity and gateway on the western side of the city,” Ortiz said.

The reason behind the push by the city to fund the project lies in the fact that the city owns the building that houses the Recycling Center and is responsible for maintaining the exterior.

“The city owns the building so we have to maintain the exterior part of that. It falls in our liability. It really just depends on what the funding sources are and where we’re at financially,” Ortiz said.

The project will entail replacing the concrete on the outside of the Recycling Center while also planting multiple trees near the entrance to the building.

“We’re going to contact the NRD to see if they have any trees that they can donate or wait until after we get past the winter months into the spring where we can do some more perennials and additional landscaping,” Ortiz said.

Though pleased with the overall scope of the project, Keep Kimball Director Larissa Binod showed some concern about traffic flow issues that the project might create, because it would change the way that residents enter and exit the facilities parking lot.

Ortiz says that the intention of moving the traffic flow is to tamper off some safety issues that have developed over time.

“The idea was to get them off onto that street on the west end of the center and have them hang a right or a left onto the intersection as opposed to them coming out of the alleyway and try to go right or left. Probably about 100 yards down to the east on Highway 30 we’ve had issues in the past where overgrown trees or brushes have impeded the visibility of drivers trying to see when cars are coming,” Ortiz said.

Mayor James Schnell recommended that the council approve the use of the funds, believing that the city must take care of its properties to the same level that it asks its residents to take care of theirs.

“We preach to everybody else to take care of their properties, and we, at the same time, need to take care of our properties. We can’t let them deteriorate to the point of where we can’t bring them back,” Mayor Schnell said.

The funding of the project was approved unanimously by the council.