Lathrop City Council Balks At Cost Of Highway Cleanup Plan
By Kelly Ryan
LATHROP (CBS13) — The Lathrop City Council opted against an adopt-a-highway program that would clean up its litter problem.
Residents in Lathrop say they've had enough with mounting trash along Interstate 5 through their city. The trash collects along two main freeway ramps into Lathrop from Highway 120 to Roth Road. You can't miss the discarded trash bags, tires and food wrappers.
The City Council took up the issue on Monday night where the city manager laid out a proposal to combat the issue. He proposed joining the Caltrans program and hiring another city maintenance worker.
Caltrans already mows, weeds and collects garbage there on a regular basis, and it told CBS13 in January that it had been out to clean up areas in Lathrop more often than other cities. But the trash keeps piling up.
But the City Council balked at the idea when they heard the $86,000 price tag associated with hiring an additional maintenance worker.
In the end, they voted against the extra worker and there weren't enough votes to join the program. For now, Lathrop residents will have to live with the garbage.
