Dateline: June 21, 2007

City considers fate of free dumping policy

The fate of free dumping for citizens of Clarendon hangs in the balance as city leaders consider how best to deal with a sanitation department that is losing money.

Joe Shadle, who heads the department, told the Board of Aldermen during their regular meeting last Tuesday that he favors ending the practice of allowing citizens to dump trash for free at the city’s recycling center once a month with their paid water bill.

“We don’t give anything else away,” Shadle said. “Why do we do this?”

Shadle said the price of fuel is making it more costly to haul trash to the Memphis landfill. He also said that the citywide clean up generates about three extra rolloff boxes of trash that must be hauled to the landfill.

Alderman Tommy Hill said he favored keeping the free dump policy and the citywide cleanup as a way to keep the city clean, but Alderman Janice Knorpp said she didn’t think the city could afford it.

Rates for dumping by businesses and for dumping by citizens after the free dump have remained unchanged since 2001, and Hill said he thinks the city should raise the rates but keep the free dumping policy. Alderman Chris Ford agreed.

“I know we have to raise rates, but I hate to take the free dump away,” Ford said.

Discussion also touched on a continuing problem of people from outside the city coming to town and dumping in city Dumpsters, which aldermen agreed is unfair to the city residents who pay for those Dumpsters

Mayor Mark White suggested eliminating the free dump policy for the summer to see what effect that has on the finances of the sanitation department. The board will consider amending the appropriate ordinances to do this at next Tuesday’s city meeting.

In other city business, the board selected Aldermen Knorpp to be Clarendon’s new mayor pro-tem.

Jeremy Powell addressed the board on behalf of the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association and requested Motel Bed Tax funds to advertise the Saints’ Roost Celebration. The board approved $3,000 for this request.

Fire Chief Delbert Robertson spoke to the board about the need for a new rescue truck. He said a grant application to the Texas Forest Service was denied. The fire department wants to purchase a new cab and chassis and transfer the existing rescue truck bed and equipment. The new truck will cost more than $37,000. Robertson said he thought the department could pay about half the cost.

Mayor Mark White said the board would consider the request at budget time and urged the department to request the county to pay one-fourth of the cost of the truck.

City Secretary Linda Smith discussed declining revenue from the Municipal Court due to a drop in the number of tickets being written in the city. The mayor agreed to discuss this with the sheriff’s department.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts said the pipe is in for the waterworks project on the west side of town.

Roberts also said water samples had been taken for testing from locations in the south and east side of town to determine the cause of discolored water in those areas.