The relocation of recycling bins at Strathcona Gardens has been temporarily put on hold.
On Sept. 8, the bins were supposed to be moved from the front of the recreation facility’s parking lot to the back, southeast corner of the lot next to the RCMP station’s back parking lot.
The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), which is responsible for the region’s waste management function, had to scrap those plans, however, once it became apparent that existing parking spaces would interfere with waste removal.
“As it turns out, the proposed location will not work for the CVRD’s contractor unless the regional district is prepared to sacrifice a significant portion of the parking lot in that area,” wrote Tom Yates, the regional district’s corporate services manager, in a report to the Strathcona Gardens Commission.
Yates added that talks are ongoing with the CVRD as to relocation options as the bins were supposed to be moved in order to eliminate an eyesore along one of the city’s busiest streets.
“The multi-bins are being moved to improve the appearance of the front entrance and provide a more pleasant and welcoming experience for patrons and visitors to the complex,” Koreen Gurak, facility manager at Strathcona Gardens, said in late August when the move was first announced.
The bins are currently slightly obscured by promotional banners that adorn a chain link fence along Dogwood Street.
Strathcona Gardens staff, in a June report to the Strathcona Gardens Commission, said the banners help to hide the “unattractive sight of the recycling bins” in front of the parking lot.
In the meantime, the Strathcona Regional District is hoping to present the CVRD with a licence agreement as a starting point for further negotiations regarding the recycling bins.
The draft licence includes a $500 a month fee to be paid to the Strathcona Regional District as well as an understanding that the CVRD assumes all responsibility for loss, damage or injury, as well as liability insurance and all costs relating to the maintenance of the recycling bins. The CVRD would also be responsible for keeping the site clean and tidy.