Reinstating the town’s leaf removal service was one topic discussed by members of the Kenbridge Town Council as a potential goal for 2018 during a recent council meeting.

“Probably my No. 1 complaint from citizens in this town is that we stopped collecting leaves,” Town Mayor Emory Hodges said.

He cited phone calls and office visits from members of the public who expressed concern and frustration about the town’s lack of a leaf removal service.

Hodges said that the service could potentially draw people into the town, or it could be an incentive for people to stay in the town in place of moving to surrounding areas.

“If we are going to market ourselves as a good community to live in, then we’ve got to look at what is it we offer to citizens in Kenbridge,” Hodges said. “They can pick somewhere else to live, and the fact that we used to collect leaves and now we ask the people to put the leaves in trash bags and the garbage truck picks them up, people just don’t like it.”

“It’s a lot easier for you to put them in a pile by the road and have them collected than it is trying to get them into a trash bag,” Hodges said. “We accomplished it for a long period of time … I don’t know what we’ve got to do to get back in that business. Maybe we have to invest in some type of equipment … maybe it’s a truck. One person can operate and collect leaves and limbs.”