The question of who is responsible for emptying the receptacles at the dog waste stations in Boulder is raising a bit of a stink.
It’s not abundantly clear how the maintenance of those stations were supposed to proceed, said Boulder City Council President Drew Dawson, who said he went back into the council recording and minutes from the meeting when it was discussed.
Meanwhile, the receptacles are sometimes left full, particularly at Veterans Park.
There are several located around town — at Veterans Park, East Side Park, the Boulder Cemetery and Centennial Park.
The Boulder Area Chamber of Commerce purchased the stations and the
Animal Shelter and Care Committee (AS&CC) installed them in 2019, said Cheryl Haasakker with the organization.
Pat Lewis said the Chamber initiated the project as a way to encourage people to clean up after their pets.
Haasakker said the city of Boulder buys the bags and she relies on people telling her a station is empty.
As for emptying the receptacles, “I think there’s a communication thing,” said Haasakker.
Lewis thought the city was going to handle that part of the project because when the stations were installed, city staff were already emptying the trash cans on Main Street, so it was assumed they would do the dog stations too.
Dawson said that when it came before the Council it was his expectation that those who were proposing the project would take care of it, but it wasn’t clear in the motion.
It’s a topic that needs to be revisited, he said, adding that it may be added to the next Council agenda.
Dawson said this is not unlike some of the other projects in town.
The challenge with these projects is that it appears it’s being turned over to city staff to maintain, but then it becomes a question of workload, he said.
Going forward, when these projects are approved, there needs to be a plan for their long term sustainability so it doesn’t end up with a vague sense of who is responsible, he said.
“This is a learning experience. We’re going to figure it out,” he said.
