Geneva schedules extra curbside leaf pickup

Because leaves refused to fall on Geneva's schedule, the city is going to pay for an extra pickup.

The city council voted Monday to pay as much as $77,500 to Kramer Tree Services to go around town one last time with its giant vacuum, starting next week.

Fourth Ward Alderman Jim Radecki suggested it. The final pickup in his ward was Nov. 14, he said, and things still aren't good.

"It's a mess. I would estimate half the leaves had yet to fall down," Radecki said.

"Mother Nature is a fickle dance partner," public works director Rich Babica said.

Babica said leaves stuck around on the branches because of unusually warm and dry weather this fall. "This leaf collection has been a challenge." He estimated that in the previous four business days, 90 percent of the calls to his department were about leaf pickup.

The additional collection will start Nov. 30. It would start in Zone B, move to Zone C, then finish in Zone A. A map of the zones is available on the city's website.

Vacuuming leaves keeps them out of the street and out of the stormwater sewers. That's important, Babica said, because decomposing leaf litter can raise the level of nutrients flowing into the Fox River, something the Environmental Protection Agency frowns on.

Geneva utility customers pay $4.05 a month for curbside leaf and brush pickup.

People are to rake their leaves to the edge of the parkway, but not into the gutter.

A potential hiccup in the plan is if it snows during the last pickup period and temperatures drop below freezing, creating blocks of frozen leaves. Then the leaves would be picked up in the spring.

People can also bag their leaves and put them out for "free" pickup in December. That service is included in the regular garbage contract with Advanced Disposal, funded through the purchase of stickers.