Due to the Christmas holiday, regularly scheduled garbage and recycling collection for Dec. 25-28 and Jan. 1-4 will be delayed one day.

The Civic Center administrative offices will also be closed Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1. The city council meeting scheduled for Dec. 25 will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 18.

After the holiday, the service department will collect cut Christmas trees until Friday, Jan. 11.

Residents are asked to remove all decorations including lights, tinsel and ornaments. Trees should not be placed in bags. Trees that are collected through Jan. 11 are recycled into mulch.

Starting on Monday, Jan. 14, the West Carrollton service department will conduct a quarterly large-item trash collection during residents’ regular collection day.

When the Holiday Festival concludes on Saturday, Dec. 1, with the annual tree lighting, a new 25-foot metal tree with red LED lights will be glowing.

The City Beautiful Commission, which co-hosts the event from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Civic Center with the parks and recreation department, purchased the new display due to the loss of several mature evergreens that were damaged in a 2008 windstorm. New, smaller trees have been planted, but lack the height to showcase the holiday lights, according to Christian Mattingly, parks and recreation director.

The event, is free and open to the public, and features Santa’s arrival on a fire truck at approximately 3 p.m. Families can take free photos with Santa Claus during the event. The photos will be available for pickup in the lobby of the Civic Center about one week later.

Due to concerns from drivers who think that 25 miles per hour is too slow along the Dixie Dr.-Central Ave. corridor, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, city council members will hear the first reading of an ordinance that would change the limit to 30 M.P.H.

A vote on the ordinance will occur on Dec. 11, and if approved, the new speed limit would go into effect Jan. 10.

The speed limit on the Dixie Drive-Central Ave. corridor from Elm Street to the new Manchester Road intersection was reduced to 25 M.P.H. from 35 M.P.H. on Oct. 11.

The goal of the reduction, timed to the completion of the new Exit 47 reconstruction, was to create an environment along the corridor that was more desirable for economic redevelopment. Approximately 77 on-street parking spaces were also installed along the Dixie Dr.-Central Ave.

“These changes stemmed from the city’s long-term comprehensive plan that calls for making the city a destination community,” said Greg Gaines, city planning director. “We knew a reduction was necessary in order to make the city a safer place to park, walk, or bike.”

However, many residents voiced concerns that 25 M.P.H. was too slow for the current traffic conditions along the corridor.