By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Brush and yard waste collection may be put on a reduced schedule next year, as Lawrence Township officials try to balance the loss of one position in the Department of Public Works against increasing demands for services.
The proposal, which was discussed at Township Council’s June 19 meeting, would limit brush and yard waste pickup to April, May and September. There would be no pickup in February, March, June, July or August unless a special collection is needed after a severe storm.
There would be no change to the leaf collection schedule, which occurs in November and December, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun told Township Council. Residents who want to dispose of brush and yard waste have the option to take it to the township-owned Joseph H. Maher Jr. Ecological Center on Princeton Pike.
Pointing to a memorandum prepared by Gregory Whitehead, the director of Public Works, Mr. Krawczun said the Department of Public Works is taking on the responsibility of maintaining Lawrence’s portion of the new joint athletic fields at the former airport on the Lawrenceville-Pennington Road.
In the memorandum, Mr. Whitehead wrote that “with the previous loss of park maintenance staff, we need to focus on reducing brush collection in order to shift available labor hours to other areas of operation.”
”The loss of one additional laborer equals about 2,088 labor hours per year. The proposed change (in brush collection) will save about 2,652 labor hours per year that can be re-assigned to other core functions of the department,” Mr. Whitehead wrote.
Those functions include sanitizing the public restrooms, recycling, garbage and litter removal, playground safety, athletic field care and preparation, irrigation maintenance, general repairs and general grass cutting of all municipal park and public property areas.
Mr. Whitehead’s memorandum also pointed to fuel savings that would result from fewer brush collection pickups. The Department of Public Works trucks used 3,440 gallons of diesel fuel in February, March, June, July, August and October of 2011, which cost $10,814.
Given the proposed cutback in the brush collection schedule, Mr. Krawczun told the council, it will be necessary to do some enforcement of the regulations. Property owners must keep brush and yard waste on their property and not at the curb, he said. It is not clear who would handle the enforcement, but it would definitely not be the Police Department, he added.
Mr. Krawczun also raised the possibility that the ecological center could be closed down. The operating agreement between Lawrence Township and Princeton Borough and Princeton Township has expired, but it is being honored until the consolidation of the two Princetons takes effect Jan. 1, 2013.
If the ecological center is closed down, it would free up some of the Department of Public Works staff at the center to take on other tasks, Mr. Krawczun said. The Lawrence Township Department of Public Works attendant could be reassigned.

