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When considering a career, Victoria Carrillo wanted a job that would always be there no matter economic conditions or changes in technology. As it turned out, Carrillo needed to look no further than the nearest wastebasket. Carrillo is the City of Amarillo (COA) assistant superintendent for Solid Waste Disposal, a position she has held for the past three years. To put it in simple terms, all the trash in Amarillo goes through Carrillo. “It sure does,” Carrillo said with a laugh. As part of her duties, Carrillo oversees solid waste disposal at the COA transfer station and the COA landfill, which is the final destination for all city trash. “Everything that gets picked up in the city, whether it is curbside or commercial, it all goes to the transfer station. From the transfer station it goes to the landfill. I oversee both sides,” said Carrillo. “At the landfill we compact the trash. I make sure we are not impacting the air or groundwater and make sure that we are keeping everything clean.” For perspective of how big a job this is, the city produced 62,000 tons of trash from Dec. 2024 to March 2025. The city produces an estimated 1 million tons of trash on an annual basis. “Amarillo is always expanding,” Carrillo said. The COA landfill consists of 662 acres, with 12 massive cells for trash disposal. Considering these numbers, there will always be a need for employees in the COA Solid Waste Department. “When I started, I was just looking to get my foot in the door in a career that I knew was basically recession proof,” said Carrillo, a Pampa native who spent seven years with the City of Pampa in several spots in the Solid Waste Department. “We are always going to produce trash. It was

The City of Amarillo (COA) is launching a trial drive-thru option for water bill payments beginning Tuesday (May 27) on the north side of City Hall at 623 S. Johnson St. During the trial period, citizens can use the COA Utility Billing Mobile Unit as a drive-thru payment option without needing to enter city hall. Drive-thru service will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday through Friday.  The drive-thru service is available for water bill payments only. This drive-thru service is being tested to gauge community interest in a permanent drive-thru option in the future. In addition to the temporary drive-thru option, COA offers several convenient ways to pay water bills, including online, in-person, night depository drop-off and payment locations throughout the city. A full list of payment options is available at: https://amarillo.gov/utility-billing/pay/ The map below provides details on the mobile unit location and traffic flow to assist visitors. For more information, contact City of Amarillo Media Relations Manager Dave Henry at (806) 378-5219 or by email at David.Henry@amarillo.gov

In recognition of all who have served in the U.S. military, the City of Amarillo (COA) offices will be closed on Monday (May 26) for Memorial Day. The COA service schedule for the week of Memorial Day: The schedule for Solid Waste services: Ross Rogers and Comanche Trail Golf Complexes will have normal hours of operation. For more information contact City of Amarillo Media Relations Manager Dave Henry at 806-378-5219 or by email at david.henry@amarillo.gov.

A city landmark highlighting the entrance and exit to downtown Amarillo for more than 20 years will add to the bright lights of the city as the Center City Gateway Arches officially light up Tuesday (May 20). Thanks to collaborative funding between the City of Amarillo, Center City and Center City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 1, a restoration project for the Center City Gateway Arches began in September 2024. The project includes LED lights which will allow the arches to display a wide array of colors – for example, red, white and blue lights during the July 4 holiday and red and green lights during the Christmas season. “We are so excited for the Amarillo community to see this new and colorful version of the Center City Gateway Arches,” said Center City Executive Director Beth Duke. “Countless cars pass by these arches every day. The restoration project adds a completely new element to what has become a downtown landmark.” The Center City Gateway Arches will officially light up with a public ceremony:

The City of Amarillo (COA) is providing current, timely and beneficial data for city playa lakes via a unique and brand new website – the COA Playa Lake Level Monitoring site. The site is available at: https://www.amarillo.gov/drainage-utility/ The site includes an abundance of data for eight playa lakes – Bennett Lake, Lawrence Lake, Martin Lake, McCarty Lake, McDonald Lake, Playa 7, T-Anchor Lake and Willow Grove Lake. “We wanted to provide accurate, thorough and up-to-date information regarding city playa lakes that can be shared with the public,” said COA Director of Public Works Alan Harder. “There is so much information available on the dashboards, and we encourage the Amarillo community to use this new site as a valuable resource.” The COA Drainage Utility Division recently installed monitoring stations for the purpose of determining current playa levels (identified as percent full) for playa lakes owned or maintained by the city. Levels are provided in 15-minute intervals. In addition to monitoring the real-time level of each playa lake, monitoring stations also include rain gauges and cameras.  Residents can view photos of each playa lake taken every hour and monitor current and past rainfall data at each site. To see the recent presentation to city council regarding the COA Playa Lake Level Monitoring site, go to Item 9D on the video index of the May 13 city council meeting: amarillotx.new.swagit.com/videos/342545