Your city must be better than mine

[KsWoodsMan]

Some things here are OKay, I won't go into what isn't. The city wood dump doesn't stop people from hauling out all they can carry. If the gates are unlocked you can get what you want. He won't give permission to get it but won't stop you from taking as much as you like.

The city is pretty strict with their employees though. They can't put it on your truck if you are there when they are loading and they cant take one stick home from a job. They can go to the dump like everybody else on their day off and take what they want. Except they cant run a saw even though the rest of us do. They end up cutting it big , stacking it out of the way and coming back with a low trailer to make it easier for them to get. It doesn't bother me there is usually plenty there even if they set aside primo stuff for themself.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I look at it as perks of the job. If I were working for the city and cutting a nice oak down, it would be going in my wood shed if allowed. If someone came up to us and asked for the wood, I would explain that I burned too and that I needed it.

The city has been dumping all the storm damage in some open land they have. I've been watching what arrives and it's all small branches or the contents of chipper trucks. I wonder where all the good wood is going. Probably to the house of the guy doing the cutting.

Ian

 

[BIG JAKE]

That's the trouble with lawsuits-ruins it for everybody. Where I work they pay a recycler to haul things off. They throw tons of steel, aluminum, and stainless steel away on a weekly basis, but they won't let the employees take it for fear of lawsuits from injuries etc.

 

[Rookie1]

Its the same around here. If you stop and ask the workers taking down the tree, even their boss man, the answer is always "No".
I learned over time where they take it to, and stopped by to take a look.Piles upon piles alongside a deep pit that they burn in.
I asked the guy if i could cut there, he said that due to liability reasons, they didnt allow any cutting. A long conversation about things going to waste eventually steered around to, "Boy, if a guy would show up with a cold six pack of millers best once in awhile, I would go take a loooonnnggg break in the shade.with my earplugs in."
got the hint, and showed up the next day with some cold ones in a cooler.Took me about an hour to load up the trailer and drive off.The burn guy was nowhere to be found.
Anytime I get, I head back there to find several piles shoved to the side of all the good oak. The only sucky part is he quits and locks the gates at 4pm, so i dont get over there to often.

Now thats how its supposed to work. Im trying to find a guy that will do that. Im not sure there are many left around.

I look at it as perks of the job. If I were working for the city and cutting a nice oak down, it would be going in my wood shed if allowed. If someone came up to us and asked for the wood, I would explain that I burned too and that I needed it.

The city has been dumping all the storm damage in some open land they have. I've been watching what arrives and it's all small branches or the contents of chipper trucks. I wonder where all the good wood is going. Probably to the house of the guy doing the cutting.

Ian

I think if you told the wrong person that you,a city worker,was getting the wood you would ruffle some feathers. I would say not giving wood away is also a politics thing. Where I work residents are like selfish little kids. Once they hear someone got wood they start crying why didnt they get it. Mayor says ok no one gets it if you cant play nice.

 

[Zodiac45]

If a tree is cut along the road the nearest homeowner has dibs on the tree first. If they don't want it, than anyone else can take it.

That's how it works here too. If it's in front of a landowners house lot, he's got first dibs. Other than that, we can't say it's ok too take it (Asplunda Boss) but wink wink.......

 

[Dalmatian90]

Custom here is adjacent homeowner first...

Then whoever gets it next.

When the State was widening the highway in front of my house, the tree company stopped to get permission to trim and find out if I wanted the logs -- probably got three cords out of that deal (600' of frontage). When the power company was trimming lines on my property (my transformer is actually on a pole partway up the driveway, so they have responsibility on the primaries side of it) they didn't even ask about the wood...just left it stacked in my yard in firewood length

Goes for storm cleanup, too -- town just asks that you stack the brush neatly so it's easier for the highway crew to chip when they get to it.

Town's recreation park is on the back side of my property...couple years back summertime storm knocked one of my trees down across the road and into the entrance to the park. Neighbor who does firewood just stopped to ask my permission to cut up the tree from my land -- I didn't even know about it yet. Either the highway crew or fire department had cut it up enough to make the road passable. The two of us...with his backhoe ...made real short work of cleaning it up and just left a pile of brush for the town to chip when they got to it.

I've never prowled the dump for firewood...I have for grass clippings and other stuff for the garden though

 

[vwboomer]

I look at it as perks of the job. If I were working for the city and cutting a nice oak down, it would be going in my wood shed if allowed. If someone came up to us and asked for the wood, I would explain that I burned too and that I needed it.
Ian

So you think the workers should be paid to cut their own firewood from city property. Really?

I realize if they offered it for everyone at a dump site, I'd probaby not get much anyway since everyone would be taking whatever they could get their hands on. It's just the principle of the thing.

I can't afford to heat with gas anymore. On reduced hours and that leaves me no money for anything. I realize that I'm putting up wood for next year when times may be a little better - but they might also be worse. That's why I'm getting any kind of wood I can. So far in the last week I've gotten about 3 cord of popple, box elder, with about 1 cord of it ash. I'll take what I can get.

 

[Dalmatian90]

So you think the workers should be paid to cut their own firewood from city property. Really?

My view on it:

They're paid to cut the wood and haul it away for disposal.

If they "dispose" of it at their house, and doing so is no more expensive then dumping it, I have no problem with it. It's no more or less ethical then a first come, first serve at the dump.

If you want "fair" then you end up having to administer either a lottery, or have people submit their income taxes so the poorest get the wood first, or whatever...and very quickly it just becomes cheaper for the town to say no one can have any then trying to massage all the bruised egos.

If you don't like it, get insurance and either offer to pay the city for the wood or offer to bid out the trimming work at a lower cost.

The wood at the end of the day is refuse and I don't care what happens to it as long as it is disposed of without unnecessary pollution.

 

[MATTYB11]

In my town they take the trees to the transfer station (since we don't have an actual dump) where you might think it would be free for the taking........... but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, one of the town's employees takes it all home. WTF ??!!!!

Our local news station might love a story like that. Just because he works for the town that dosen't make him somehow entitled to the wood. I think it belongs to the taxpayers first and if nobody wants it THEN he can have it.

 

[Rookie1]

Our local news station might love a story like that. Just because he works for the town that dosen't make him somehow entitled to the wood. I think it belongs to the taxpayers first and if nobody wants it THEN he can have it.

I think if you told the wrong person that you,a city worker,was getting the wood you would ruffle some feathers. I would say not giving wood away is also a politics thing. Where I work residents are like selfish little kids. Once they hear someone got wood they start crying why didnt they get it. Mayor says ok no one gets it if you cant play nice.

I think your one of those people Im talking about.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

So you think the workers should be paid to cut their own firewood from city property. Really?

You make it sound like the city workers are just cutting helter skelter any tree they want for the sole purpose of heating their homes. In my scenario, they were cutting a tree in an official, legitimate capacity. I see no reason why they couldn't take it to their house instead of the dump. They have as much or more right to it than anybody else.

I don't see why everyone is so down on city workers. Do you think tree services should be forced to take their trees to some public place so that it's fair for everyone? Maybe they should have someone there so folk can draw straws to see who gets the prime cuts... that would be fair(er). I don't think it's fair that night shift folk can go to the dump early in the day while I'm at work and get the locust and leave me with the willow.

Ian

 

[Jon E]

You make it sound like the city workers are just cutting helter skelter any tree they want for the sole purpose of heating their homes. In my scenario, they were cutting a tree in an official, legitimate capacity. I see no reason why they couldn't take it to their house instead of the dump. They have as much or more right to it than anybody else.

In that context, I agree with you. Most of the time (at least in New England) the tree being cut is offered to the adjacent landowner first, or just piled on his/her land. If the landowner doesn't want it, AND the municipality has to haul it off to a dump or burn pit, then the town employees should be able to take it. If the town workers don't want it, it should be made available to the town's residents at the place it was brought. Most, if not all of the municipal employees around here, live in the town they work for. So they have a right to the wood as a resident, and not necessarily as a municpal employee.

What could get sticky, is a municipality cutting down a tree and the landowners nearby NOT getting first dibs on the wood, instead it goes to the town worker's house where he cuts it up and sells it. That's wrong. What prevents these guys, in that case, from going around and "selectively harvesting" firewood from the side of the road, just because they can get away with it? "Look, Joe, that hickory's got a dead branch - let's take it down"... " OK, pal, do ya want that oak on the other side of the road, it's leaning a bit toward the street, looks like it might fall down in a hundred years or so - better be safe, heh, heh...."

The town widened my road last summer and there were two large (32" dbh) sugar maples taken down, as well as a lot of smaller stuff. I called the neighbor on the other side of the road and asked them if I could have it, since all the wood with a few small exceptions was from their side. They said yes, and our town boys aren't allowed to take anything except what goes in their chipper. They dropped and dragged the entire maple trees into my driveway - left 'em 50 feet long. Everything else was piled on the roadside and my oldest son and I had to make a couple dozen frantic trips with my tractor/loader and pickup truck before the scavengers came out and "stole" it all.

 

[vwboomer]

You make it sound like the city workers are just cutting helter skelter any tree they want for the sole purpose of heating their homes. In my scenario, they were cutting a tree in an official, legitimate capacity. I see no reason why they couldn't take it to their house instead of the dump. They have as much or more right to it than anybody else.

So, when I fix something at work, I should be able to take home any spare parts or parts that I take off to fix it?

I don't see why everyone is so down on city workers. Do you think tree services should be forced to take their trees to some public place so that it's fair for everyone? Maybe they should have someone there so folk can draw straws to see who gets the prime cuts... that would be fair(er). I don't think it's fair that night shift folk can go to the dump early in the day while I'm at work and get the locust and leave me with the willow.

Ian

Tree services are paid by landowners, generally. The landowner is offered the tree and if they don't want it, it's hauled away and generally sold as firewood. My taxes do not pay for that tree service to remove that landowners tree.
We're getting a little off topic from where I started - the wasteful practice of hauling wood 25 miles and paying to landfill it. I can get they don't want piles laying all over - but if someone is willing to load it up as they cut it, what's the harm.
But I do not feel that either MY TAXES or yours should go towards heating the house of whoever happens to be on the city crew cutting down trees that day.

 

[Dalmatian90]

I think it belongs to the taxpayers first and if nobody wants it THEN he can have it.

Municipal employees don't pay taxes?

So, when I fix something at work, I should be able to take home any spare parts or parts that I take off to fix it?

IIRC the general rule is you have to keep anything that came with the kit or you removed from what you're fixing and offer them to the customer (so they can see the repairs were legitimately done, and also keep the old parts if they like).

If they don't want them and you'd just throw them in the garbage anyway, why would any employer have a problem with someone taking them home instead?

First is overly concerned about liability (I worked once at a R&D center and we had to destroy old lab equipment, company was afraid of being sued if we donated it to a university or school).

Second is because the management doesn't want to have to deal with a bunch of people whining and complaining and #####ing like you guys...so it's easier for them to say screw it everything goes in the dumpster and no one can take anything.

 

[powerstroke73L]

Funny-I just picked up free wood from the county this morning-it's mostly deadfall they cut from one of the largest parks and the county run golf course. I was actually surprised at the level of civility among the folks picking wood up. Hell, one guy even let me know he was leaving so I could move my truck closer to the pile. I think most of the time municipal crews are more concerned about people whining and complaining that they didn't get any free wood.

 

[Kansas]

Our county chips all the small stuff for free mulch you can get anytime, and they burn anything thats left, grass is composted free to the public also.

I cut there whenever I want to, Ive always got my 346 with me and I stop in when I am in the area see if there is something I can bring home, so we are fortunate compared to some it sounds like.

Kansas

 

[woodbooga]

In my town they take the trees to the transfer station (since we don't have an actual dump) where you might think it would be free for the taking........... but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, one of the town's employees takes it all home. WTF ??!!!!

There's more than one such transfer station in our state where dump picking at the metal pile is verboten. The stated reason for the "no dump picking per order of the selectmen" signs is <drumroll> personal safety. That is, I might get hurt loading up my truck.

But the semi-open secret is that the attendees either scrap themselves. Or else "sell" the scrap rights to someone. Either on an exclusive year-by-year basis, or on a load-by-load basis.

 

[HuskyMike]

In my town during the december storm we had alot of trees come down in the roads. The tree service (assplunk) was sposed to chip it, or leave it for the people but they took it and hid it behind a coal/wood dealers place.

They split it and sold it. They got busted for it but I am not sure what happened to the guys involved.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

If their supervisor was anything like my eX's step dads they probably got canned. His policy was "We pay you enough you can heat with gas." Because of poor health I hadn't been able to get any cut and he helped us out, then nearly lost his job over the deal.

It would have been fine if we followed him around and picked up the leftovers that they leave piled in the ditch. His boss thought he was selling it on the side. If he had been, he and the groundie would have been looking for work.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

So, when I fix something at work, I should be able to take home any spare parts or parts that I take off to fix it?



Tree services are paid by landowners, generally. The landowner is offered the tree and if they don't want it, it's hauled away and generally sold as firewood. My taxes do not pay for that tree service to remove that landowners tree.
We're getting a little off topic from where I started - the wasteful practice of hauling wood 25 miles and paying to landfill it. I can get they don't want piles laying all over - but if someone is willing to load it up as they cut it, what's the harm.
But I do not feel that either MY TAXES or yours should go towards heating the house of whoever happens to be on the city crew cutting down trees that day.

Sounds like you're saying it's ok for anyone to pick up that wood except the city worker. You'd rather have your taxes pay for the diesel in the truck, the salary of the person taking it to the dump, and the dump fee rather than just let them have it.

I've talked to guys that hate paying taxes so badly that they would spend $500 to get a $200 tax deduction without winking an eye. You express that same attitude in that you would rather ANYONE get that wood except the arborist that just happens to get paid from the city budget.

In any case, it's not worth quibbling over. I quit.
Ian