COUNCILMAN AT CHAFFEE SUGGESTS CITY COMPOST

CHAFFEE -- Chaffee Councilman Brad Bader proposed Monday that the city start a Saturday morning compost operation at the city's former sewage treatment plant.

The councilman made the suggestion at the regular Chaffee City Council meeting. No action was taken, but other city council members seemed receptive to the proposal. Mayor Ron Moyers said the city would get the matter worked out.

"We just need a place in town where people can take their grass clippings and leaves and get rid of them," said Bader, chairman of the city's Solid Waste Committee. "I think the cost will be minimal."

Bader, of Ward 4, initially said last month that he thought the city should look into starting a compost operation at the site and Moyers gave his consent for him to check into the matter further. The former sewage plant is off Highway 77 at the city's northern limits.

The operation could be open from 8 a.m. until noon from April to November, Bader said. All that would be needed, he said, is a front-end loader, a person to work at the site, and the necessary chemicals. The councilman suggested a city employee could work at the site and in turn receive "time off" as compensation.

Within six to nine months, he said, the compost material will turn into garden mulch. People could pick up the mulch on Saturdays, he said.

He did not say whether there would be a charge for people to drop off material or pick up mulch.

Ward 4 Councilman Tom Cunningham suggested people from outside the city could be kept from using the site if a city sticker was required on vehicles.

City council members Monday approved an ordinance to allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, namely beer, at Frisco Park during fairs, bazaars and other similar events. The ordinance amends city law, which prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages on city property, including parks.

City Attorney David Summers said the sales would have to be made by civic, not-for-profit, fraternal, charitable, or church organizations. A second ordinance was approved to require the organizations to obtain a maximum seven-day liquor license.

Nothing in the park's deed prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages there, Summers said. City officials said the park was given to the city in 1970 by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad.

The council approved the ordinances in connection with a request to sell beer at the park during the city's German Days in August. The event is put on by the Chaffee Chamber of Commerce.

In other action Monday:

The council approved the purchase of a box van for $2,000 for use as the city's emergency preparedness vehicle. Moyers said the van is a 1977 model.

The van will replace a U-Haul truck the council purchased in October 1990 as its emergency preparedness vehicle. The upgraded truck was sold for $3,000 following problems with housing it.

Several building permits were approved, including one for an addition to the Elks Lodge. The building, currently 50 feet by 120 feet, will be expanded with a 50-by-72-foot addition, city officials said.