‘We want to take a different look’: Task force convenes to determine future of Sisson Street dump
By Khiree Stewart
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — The Sisson Street Task Force held its first meeting on Monday to discuss what to do with the Sisson Street Convenience Center, a trash drop-off site.
The task force is looking into whether to keep, close or move the site. Various stakeholders provided input in the meeting.
“We want to take a different look, we want to get more stakeholders around the table to work with DPW,” said City Councilwoman Odette Ramos, D-District 14.
The Department of Public Works emphasized the role of the Convenience Center as a place for communities to drop off materials for transportation elsewhere.
“We are focusing on a Convenience Center where communities can go and drop off their materials for it to be transported to another destination,” a representative with DPW said.
A proposal to move the center to a site along Falls Road, under the 28th Street Bridge, has faced pushback.
Sandy Sparks, with Friends of the Jones Falls, expressed concerns about the environmental impact and highlighted the importance of recycling in Baltimore City.
“Very concerned about the environmental impact and have a long history of supporting recycling in Baltimore City,” Sparks said. “I’m keen on us having a good site — not in the Jones Falls flood plain, and also a site that is central and convenient to all of Baltimore to come to the center of the city.”
Ramos acknowledged the objections raised and explained Mayor Brandon Scott’s decision to pause and form the task force.
“We heard a lot of objections, and I think they were valid, so that’s why the mayor said, ‘Let’s hold on a second and let’s have this task force,'” Ramos said.
Ramos mentioned discussions about other possible sites, noting that all options are being considered.
More meetings are planned and the public is invited to attend. The task force is expected to make a recommendation to Scott by December.
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