Dateline: November 1, 2007

Clarendon Aldermen turn down trash proposal 

Clarendon Aldermen declined to privatize the city’s sanitation services in a 4-1 vote last Tuesday.

The city had been considering a proposal from Allied Waste, formerly BFI, to contract out the service of hauling residential and commercial trash.

Allied had proposed purchasing all of the city’s Dumpsters for $10,000 and would replace 150 of those with new containers in one year with the remaining containers replaced over five years.

Allied’s cost was estimated to be $17,000 per month or $204,000 per year, and the prices would be locked in for 18 months and then be subject to annual increases based on several consumer price indexes.

Mayor Mark White spoke against the proposal last week and noted the city currently budget’s $275,757 for the sanitation department, which includes salaries, operating the recycling center, and providing a fee-based service to Howardwick and Greenbelt Lake.

Alderman Janice Knorpp said she didn’t think the city could afford to go with Allied, and she asked Alderman Tommy Hill, who supported the proposal, who he wanted to fire.

Hill said he did not want to fire anyone but wanted to move some people into other departments. He also noted that the cost of gas and equipment was going up and that the city needs a new trash truck.

He was the lone vote against  declining Allied’s proposal.

In other city business, Aldermen listened to Ray Fields who spoke regarding property at 102 W. Rosenfield. In September, Fields signed a release and indemnification form to allow the city to demolish and remove the dangerous structure, trash, and other conditions on that property.

Fields now says he didn’t want the house torn down and that his mother wanted to return to her home after recovering from a stroke. Fields said the paper the city has is not the paper he signed.

Mayor White asked Fields to produce the other paper, and Fields could not.