OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford A sign at the Dunkirk Department of Public Works facility on Lucas Avenue reminds that the city is no longer accepting brush at the location.

Dunkirk is looking for help from surrounding communities with brush pickup.

Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak continues to lament the closure of the city’s own Lucas Avenue brush dropoff site, and convened another discussion about it at last month’sDepartment of Public Works meeting.

“I know there’s negativity on that from certain people. But we should at least try” to find a brush dropoff option for Dunkirk residents, she said.

Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury said the city was spending $80,000 per year on grinding up brush until it ended the dropoff point last year.

Woodbury added that the site would have to be monitored if it was reopened — and DPW lost two people in budget cuts, one of whose duties used to include watching the dropoff point.

“If this can be solved regionally, we don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “Right now, we’re not budgeted one penny to grind brush.”

Mayor Kate Wdowiasz was reportedly planning to lobby Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel for some kind of north county brush transfer station. The only county Division of Solid Waste site that currently takes brush is in the south county, in Ellery. The transfer station on Webster Road in the town of Pomfret only accepts trash.

“I know the mayor is trying, but so can we,” Luczkowiak said. “We can set up our own meeting with PJ just so we really know what’s going on.” The First Ward councilwoman later said she would try to put together a meeting with Chautauqua County legislators about the issue.

Beyond appealing to outside municipalities for help, city officials seem to be out of ideas. The DPW meeting contained hopeful talk of community-based composting projects. The OBSERVER faced some pressure to get the word out that Dunkirk is open to any and all reasonable ideas about what to do with its brush.

At one point, Luczkowiak suggested that Dunkirk buy land to dump its brush on. She was quickly reminded that the city is in financial peril.