CLINTON — City commissioner Kenny Buchanan thinks the cost of brush grinding has gotten too steep, and he is proposing a way to reduce that cost.

Buchanan made the suggestion during the unfinished business portion of Monday’s city council meeting.  The city currently pays a service to grind up brush collected by the city.  Bids for that service were on Monday’s agenda.

“I think we need to look at this to see what we can do to cut our costs here,” Buchanan said.  “From what I understand, this is the second time this year we’ve ground, and, man, it’s getting pretty expensive.”

Buchanan wondered if the city could purchase a small plot of land outside the city where brush could be burned, avoiding the cost of grinding.  He said much of it depended on whether the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) would permit the city to burn.

“We could probably pay for some ground pretty quickly,” Buchanan said.

He felt it would be a good alternative to paying twice a year to have a service grind the brush.

Commissioners were aware of other communities in the area that also burn brush rather than have it ground.

“A lot of town still just burn it,” commissioner John Wise commented.  “It’s a whole lot easier.”

For the time being, the council approved the agenda item to pay R&R Services of Illinois, Inc. a total of $29,600 for brush grinding and leaf disposal.