Now that the snow has melted and spring has officially arrived, the City of Niles is ready to begin its brush collection service, which is provided to city residents.

The first collection date is Tuesday, April 28.

Joe Ray, director of public works, said residents must call prior to noon Friday, April 24, to get on the pick-up list for the first collection.

Collections will continue on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month through October, weather permitting. Residents must sign up by noon on the Friday before each collection to be eligible for pickup.

Crews will begin collecting April 28 in the third ward and will continue working on the list each day until everything is finished. The ward in which the city begins collecting will rotate on each subsequent collection date.

“We have set up a voice mail box that people can call to leave [their] address only and they must listen to the rules before they can leave their address,” Ray said.

Rules for brush pick-up are as follows and can be found on the city’s website ci.niles.mi.us:

• Contact the City of Niles Department of Public Works at (269) 683-4700 ext. 3062 and request to be placed on the list by no later than noon on the Friday before the scheduled pickup. Leave your address, no calls will be returned, and you will be placed on the list. Residents living on a corner lot who place brush on the street not named in their address are asked to leave that information.

• Place brush at the curb (not in the street or covering the sidewalk) by 7 a.m. on the date pickup begins. There may be times when the city has to start in a different ward due to unforeseen circumstances and if brush is not out the city will not come back until the next scheduled start date.

• Limbs may be up to six inches in diameter and lengths not larger than one person can lift himself. Piles must be free of vines, grass or flower clippings, leaves, ornamental grass, limbs with wire or nails, fence posts or any other type of wood, root balls, thorns and trash. The city will not sort through piles for brush.

• The street department’s dump trucks are six cubic yards and they only pick up one load per address per list, pre-chipped. If it is determined that a resident has more than the allowed amount they must call and get on the next collection list.

• Residents are responsible for cleaning up the area after the limbs have been picked up.

• The intent of the program does not include tree removal or tree topping that would normally be handled by a tree removal contractor.

• Street department personnel reserve the right to limit or reject the material placed at the curbside. Non-compliant piles will be turned over to the city’s code enforcement division.