ALAMOSA — Alamosa may expand its weekend hours at the Rickey Recycling Center.

Saying they believed the center should be open longer on Saturdays and Sundays, councilors during the city’s May 2nd council meeting asked staff to look into the cost of doing so.

Councilman Jan Vigil said he tried to get to the recycling center a couple of weekends ago and was frustrated when he did not make it before the center closed. He recommended changing the hours on weekends to better accommodate residents, especially during the summer when people are involved in home and yard projects. He said he had no problem with the winter hours but believed the city should maybe add two more hours on each of the weekend days.

Currently the recycling center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 12-4 p.m. on Sundays. It is also open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. These are the summer hours, with shorter hours during the winter. The recycling center is located at 1130 Old Airport Road.

City Manager Heather Brooks said city staff could research the cost of adding hours on weekends. She said the costs would be passed on to all utility customers. She said it might not seem like much, “but it’s not something that does not cost people.”

Councilman Michael Carson said he believed the council should support the community, and he did not see this as a big issue. He agreed with Vigil that more people are working in their yards on Saturdays and Sundays, and the city should expand hours at the recycling center on those days.

Councilman David Broyles said he also believed the city could add a couple of more hours on weekends.

Mayor Ty Coleman said he was concerned that additional hours on weekends would intrude on city workers’ family time. Broyles suggested that employees could alternate the weekend hours.

Mayor Coleman asked staff to look into the cost of adding some hours to the recycling center, and Brooks said she would provide that to the council as well as how that would be spread out to residential customers on their utility bills.

Alamosa business owner Ruthie Brown has asked the council to extend the recycling center hours and has been collecting signatures at her business to request extended hours on weekends. She said if the city was concerned about misuse at the center, it could install security cameras, and staff would not need to be on site all of the time. Otherwise, she said, the city could extend the hours of the part time staff on site, “and let him support his family.”