Monday night’s Port Huron City Council meeting brought discussion of two interesting new developments. Downtown is bustling with several new businesses and increased foot traffic. With that increased commerce, comes increased trash production. Given the idea by a local business owner, City Manager James Freed, has started a pilot program, similar to one that is successful in Sturgis, Michigan, where businesses share dumpsters.This program, if successful, could alleviate the cumbersome practice of storing garbage until curbside pickup day and the eyesore of private dumpsters in parking lots. In another discussion, most of the meeting was spent discussing the future of playground equipment that was intended for Knox Field, near the industrial park on the south side of the city. After extensive discussion, the safety of the location of the current splash pad and the intended playground was called into question. Council member Anita Ashford and city resident Alex Crittenden commented on the proximity to a new gas station and the distance from the neighborhoods from which children would come to play. Parks and Recreation Director Nancy Winzer encouraged that a decision be made quickly so that the city would not lose money on returning the equipment, and the council then changed course and voted to keep the equipment and install it at Gratiot Park in the spring. Gratiot Park has the equipment most in need of replacement. A new plan for Knox Field is likely to be discussed in the future. In the meantime, the residents in the Gratiot Park area can look forward to new ADA compliant equipment, including a zipline.
