After a lengthy discussion over appearance and intent, the Naperville City Council Tuesday agreed two donation receptacles benefiting the Epilepsy Foundation could be placed in the parking lot of Naper West Plaza.
Councilwomen Rebecca Boyd-Obarski and Patty Gustin voted “no” on the proposal, citing concerns over aesthetics and operation of the donation site by a for-profit company.
The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago has an agreement with Savers to operate and maintain the bin and trailer donation receptacles. Savers pays the foundation based on the weight of donated items, which are later sold or sent to third world countries.
The donation trailer and bin at 510 S. Route 59 will be attended from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, said Denise DiSanto, Savers area manager. Savers rents the trailer – which is 16 feet long and 8 feet tall – from PODS. The donation bin is 3.6 feet long and 5.8 feet tall, according to city documents.
The receptacles will be located in two parking spaces along the parking lot’s west aisle, west of Chuck E Cheese and Burlington Coat Factory.
“I’m not comfortable with this because I know they had some donation areas further west in this particular location and it just was unsightly and there were things flowing over,” Gustin said. “If we do something larger now, which is going to be more present, how is that going to be?”
Boyd-Obarski shared Gustin’s concerns about the aesthetics, and also said the setup looks like a pop-up business.
“This is starting to look like a business operation with an attendant in place and a larger footprint,” Boyd-Obarski said.
This will be Naperville’s only donation trailer, according to city staff. “We do have many donation bins throughout the city,” said Allison Laff, planning services team leader for the city’s Transportation, Engineering and Development Department. “To my knowledge we do not have any existing donation trailers within the city.”
The smaller drop-off bin will be used by people who cannot donate items between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., when the trailer is unattended. The trailer will be locked when no attendant on duty, DiSanto said.
Savers previously had a donation bin near the same location for a little more than a year, and added a trailer without city approval.
“They did come in and talk to us about adding the pod unit and we at that point had said that would require special approval,” Laff said. “Somewhere in the course of that it was added to the site and at that point we worked with them to reinforce that it required approval before it was to stay on the site.”
The city of Naperville did not receive any complaints about the donation bin when it was in the parking lot from October 2015 through November 2016, she said.
Councilman Paul Hinterlong questioned what kind of precedent this will set for other organizations seeking donation trailers, but ultimately voted in favor of the plan.
“How many of these do we want around town now that we grant you one. I don’t know if that’s something we want to open that door to,” Hinterlong said. “I’m not thrilled about it, but let’s give it a chance.”
Councilman John Krummen didn’t see a problem with the proposal.
“Nobody complained, and they’re doing good,” Councilman John Krummen said. “I will support this.”
The donation receptacles will be in the parking lot for one year.
