The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Keith and Jackie Stoltz might count cans and bottles instead of sheep when they lie down at night.

It wouldn't be surprising, because the Hartley couple counts plenty of them during the day. So far the Stoltzes have helped collect $20,356.65 in five-cent deposit refunds thanks to the can and bottle drop-off in downtown Hartley. All money raised from the recyclables is given to the city's new pool fund, which itself had a balance of $85,278.55 as of Tuesday afternoon.

"People are still supporting the can drive, but we do have a pretty big stockpile," said Jackie. "It's slowed down for us because we can't process them as fast with the weather and cold temperatures."

The can drive was spearheaded by the Stoltzes in April of 2018 and has seen unbridled support ever since. Each haul is brought back to the couple's Hartley home, where they sort them into aluminum and plastic piles, and then sort them again by size. They're then brought to a redemption center in Cherokee and the Stoltzes are reimbursed.

The couple's most recent trip to Cherokee on Tuesday netted $445. They use a trailer supplied by Steve Lux, but that volume is about as much as they can take because the redemption center can't process much more than that at one time.

"Winter makes it hard, but we've fortunately been able to make two trips over the past month," said Jackie.

The Stoltzes have been able to secure storage for the bottles and cans outside of their garage. The stockpile continually grows due to the redemption center's processing limitations, and other facilities in the area aren't capable of taking huge loads like the ones hauled in from Hartley.

Jackie estimated that there's between $5,000-$6,000 worth of cans and bottles in the stockpile.

"We've got a lot, but we're still accepting more," she said.

The collection bin was installed at the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street Southeast in late April 2018. Since then, the city council agreed to move forward with a bond issue to finance the construction of a new pool. A vote is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2.

Jackie is also part of the official campaign to raise donations for the pool. A goal of $500,000 has been set, with the rest of the pool's estimated $3 million price tag coming from the bond issue and grants.

The fundraising drive will continue throughout the year. Stoltz said the committee is planning to hold raffles as well as other events to generate donations. The most recent letter campaign netted $19,510 from community businesses and individuals.

SENTINEL-NEWS FILE PHOTO

Keith and Jackie Stoltz load up bottles at their home in September of 2019.

All donations to the pool are tax-deductible. Stoltz said the main push right now is getting the bond passed to secure the biggest chunk of funding, which will open the city up to grant opportunities.

"They're not going to give us any money if it's not approved for sure by the voters," she said.

Informational pool bondmeeting is Feb. 25

Hartley residents are invited to an informational public meeting about the pool project on Thursday, Feb. 25.

The meeting will be held inside the Hartley Community Center and begins at 7 p.m. Patrons can also watch the meeting via Zoom.

Any questions about the project will be answered by representatives from Water's Edge, the design firm in charge of the project.