Citizens raise concerns over trash hauling

Citizens concerned about Elmore County's rural trash hauling went before the Board of County Commissioners recently to seek some solutions.

Tom Vallard of Hammett, Carlene Braithwaite from Prairie and Ray Chaplain of Pine, explained they feel the contractor for trash hauling is not adhering to the agreed schedule and is not maintaining the transfer sites.

Vallard said his research has revealed that the county has been charged for pick ups when none have been made. He noted that according to the contract, dumpsters were to be emptied on a regular schedule -- once a week for Atlanta, three times a week for Pine and Prairie, etc. While the county was being billed specifically for each of the scheduled pick ups, Vallard said, many of those pick ups were never made.

The county's contract with Mark Simons for the rural pick up also specifies the hauler will maintain the transfer sites. But doors have been knocked off and have not been repaired. Even the dumpsters themselves were in a state of disrepair, many rusted out and lids missing so the waste blows all over.

Ray Chaplain noted the popularity of the Pine/Featherville area means the two communities often have the greatest population in the county especially during weekends and for special events.

But the waste is not being removed from the transfer site at Pine as scheduled, he said. Pictures of the transfer station showed the site overflowing with waste. With the advent of warmer weather, he expects the situation will only get worse.

He explained there had been a problem with the trash truck that caused hydraulic fluid to cover the floor of the transfer station. The fluids were left standing, spreading across the floor and mixing with fallen waste until there is just a thick sludge building up. Now, he said, people do not want to get into that mess and track it into their vehicles so instead they just stand back and throw their garbage towards the dumpsters and hope for the best.

He noted the doors have not been repaired and he anticipates there will be a problem with bears getting into the station and dragging trash across the hillsides.

Carlene Braithwaite said blowing trash has been a problem in the Prairie area for more than a year. It does little good to put waste in the dumpster if there are no lids and neighboring property owners should not have to spend all their time picking up the blowing trash.

The three spokespersons pointed out that the county had increased the budget line item to help meet the expense of additional pick ups and to purchase new dumpsters. However, they felt those collections were not being made and the new dumpsters had not been placed in the needed locations.

They would like to see the situation corrected before it gets worse.

Commissioner Larry Rose scolded the complainers, noting that the only reason Vallard was there was because he wanted the contract and that Braithwaite was just upset because she was expected to pay the commercial rate because of her business.

Chaplain spoke up instantly, noting that he had no business interest and he wasn't interested in securing a contract. He noted he was just a concerned citizen, willing to travel more than 100 miles round trip so the commissioners could know the problem with the waste removal that he faces everyday.

Although Mark Simons, current holder of the contract, was at the commissioners' meeting, he felt he would like additional time to respond to the complaints.

The commissioners set a special meeting for April 28 to allow Simons to prepare his response. However, this week, Simons asked to cancel that meeting, noting that he would be out of the area on a family matter.

The commissioners have not yet rescheduled the meeting nor have they addressed any of the issues brought before them by the concerned citizens.