Spring Cleaning in New Albany

With winter subsiding and spring weather arriving, it’s time for some Spring Cleaning in New Albany.  

Recently, the city has freed up some additional staff through some contracting changes with our Trash service provider (Eco-tech) that will assist in helping keep New Albany clean.  Eco-tech has been a partner with the city of New Albany for years, and an extension with the company was approved late last year with some operational changes that will benefit residents in New Albany.  

In the past, street department employees followed trash trucks to collect any additional piles of refuse, such as yard waste and old furniture.  With the new agreement in place, Eco-tech employees will handle everything.

Street Department paints stop bars.

With Eco-tech having a more pro-active effort, the city’s street department employees will be freed up to concentrate on their main mission of street work, such as painting traffic lines for clarity, repairing potholes for improved safety, maintaining street signs, and helping improve the overall cleanliness of the city.

The best part? The price for garbage pickup will not change from previous years. Through some minor operational and contractual changes, the city is able to offer a higher quality service at the same price.

What can you do to help keep our city clean?

Residents can help in numerous ways each and every day.  Besides picking up trash around your home, neighborhood, or business, the number one thing that you can do is make sure debris does not block any drainage or storm sewer system.  Trash and debris that makes its way into the storm sewer can prevent proper drainage and create flash flooding.

Residents can also help by signing up to participate in our first Neighborhood Beautification Day, set for April 23rd from 8am to 1pm.  The City of New Albany will host a neighborhood cleanup throughout the downtown, midtown, and uptown areas. The cleanup will focus on the areas from Scribner Drive to Vincennes Street and Billy Herman Ballpark to the Ohio River.

Residents are encouraged to join the fun by creating teams to assist in the neighborhood cleanup. Those interested in participating should e-mail Courtney Lewis at CLewis@cityofnewalbany.com with the subject line “Neighborhood Cleanup.” All registered teams will be provided with a t-shirt and gear to assist in the cleanup, but are encouraged to bring gardening/work gloves.

New Street Sweeper Routes to Begin April 4th

Spring is just around the corner in New Albany.  After a long winter, its time to break the warm-weather clothes out of storage and do some Spring Cleaning. In that same spirit, city staff is hard at work improving the cleanliness of our city. 

New street sweeper arriving at the Street Department HQ.

Recently, a new street sweeper was acquired by the Street Department, allowing for additional street sweeping routes to be created.  These new updated routes will begin on April 4th. To make it easier for residents to identify when the sweeper will arrive in their neighborhood, a series of daily maps have been created.  Please click below on each day to view the full sweeper schedule maps.

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY

Streets outlined in GREEN are swept from 8 am - 10 am.
Streets outlined in BLUE are swept from 10 am - 12 pm.
Streets outlined in RED are swept from 1 pm - 3 pm.

In the maps above, you can search your address in the search bar to see how the routes will affect your home or business.  We ask that residents and businesses avoid parking vehicles along these routes during the scheduled street sweeping times so that this important maintenance can be performed..

"Rental Housing Ordinance a Must for New Albany" - Mayor Gahan

Working with my staff and other city council members, New Albany City Councilman Greg Phipps will introduce G-15-05, Ordinance Adopting Chapter 160: Rental Housing Code at the regularly scheduled Council meeting on Monday, March 7, 2016.  The purpose of the ordinance is to provide for the registration and inspection of rental residential property within the city.

The Rental Housing ordinance will help facilitate in the prevention of deterioration of residential housing, assist in compliance of minimum rental housing standards to improve safety for residents, protect the character and stability of residential neighborhoods, and preserve and increase property values throughout the City.  This ordinance continues my administration’s focus on Quality of Place initiatives regarding the business of residency, while focusing on four main goals:

1.    Increased Safety for tenants and surrounding properties
2.    Improved Cleanliness
3.    Historic Preservation  
4.    Increased property values

---

By improving and maintaining our housing stock, in addition to quality of life initiatives like strong schools and parks, our entire community becomes a more attractive place for private investment of money, time, energy, and enthusiasm.

The ordinance has two major components which will assist in accomplishing the goals outlined.  

1.    Registration of any property in the city which will be rented to tenants
The registration process will require the owner to obtain a rental permit for each property and supply current contact information of the owner to the City.  This will allow the appropriate city officials to immediately contact a rental housing owner of any potential violations or issues with the property should they arise.  The registration will facilitate the timeliness and ability of the City to work with owners to address or fix any issues that may exist.  

2.    Inspection of rental housing properties  
All rental housing properties may be subject to an annual inspection or inspection based upon a complaint as permitted by ordinance and state statute.  

The Rental Housing Ordinance will immediately be of benefit to the community, residents, tenants, and rental property owners.  

We are committed to improving the residential experience for those who have long ago decided to make New Albany their home, as well as those people who are determined to find a great new place to live and grow.