Southgate residents should have received a postcard this week announcing the first of two annual extra curbside garbage pickups organized by the Southgate Neighborhood Council and Spokane’s Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS). The extra pickup is happening on Friday, May 29th.

Each year ONS allocates money to each neighborhood for neighborhood cleanup activities and this is the second year that Southgate residents have decided to do a pair of extra curbside pickups as opposed to handing out dump passes.

From the postcard, “City garbage trucks will begin collecting the waste at 7:00am and will only pick up trash at the curb (no alley pickup), single family residential waste only. Everything must be to the curb by 7:00am.”

The postcard further explains the rules…

You may put out the following items: Up to three trash cans/bags/boxes or bundles weighing no more than 85 pounds each. Acceptable items include:

• Household Trash – Broken toys, housewares, clothing
• Small Appliances – Microwave, toasters, coffee pots, etc.
• Small Furniture – Size one person can carry
• Tires – Two maximum per household

Do Not Put Out:

• Hazardous Waste – Oil, paint, batteries, pesticides, or chemicals
• Clean Green – Grass clippings, branches, tree stumps, or sod
• Large Appliances – water heaters, tubs, sinks, stoves, washers, or dryers, etc.

If you have any questions please contact Jackie Caro at the City of Spokane Office of Neighborhood Services at jcaro@spokanecity.org or 509-625-6733

Coming up this Tuesday, May 19th, the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department will be holding a public “visioning” meeting for the Southeast Soccer Complex on Regal Street. The meeting will start at 7:00pm and be at the Conference Center at ESD101 (4202 S. Regal Street).

This is an opportunity for neighborhood residents to talk about the current uses of the park and the need to better or different amenities. Want some basketball courts, come give your input. A better play area, splash pad, picnic shelters? Community gardens, better handicap access? Better bike or pedestrian connections to the neighborhood? Everything is on the table. The more input, the better.

For some background information, you can see the city-adopted Southgate Neighborhood Parks and Open Space Plan. This document was the output from a multi-year planning process a few years ago and the resulting plans were adopted by both the Parks Department and the Spokane City Council. There are sections in there that deal with the Southeast Sports Complex, but your specific input is encouraged as well.

If you have any questions you can contact us here or contact Al Vorderbruggen at the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department at 509-363-5495.