Dewey trash collection talks stall

Dewey’s move toward a single collection provider for all residential properties has stalled, primarily because some condo associations do not require every unit to have its own trash cans.

Commissioner Diane Hanson, who resumed her role as mayor for the day because Mayor Dale Cooke was dealing with car troubles in Annapolis, was frank during the town’s Dec. 10 council meeting. She said there had been eight hours of negotiations in the past week, and there were still wording issues with the contract.

The real issue holding this up is whether a condo association should be allowed to decide how many trash and recycling cans it can have, said Hanson. Some associations share cans and don’t have a trash can for every condo, she said, but Waste Industries’ bid estimate is based on a can for every condo.

This could mean a significant price increase for some people, said Hanson. It’s one thing if the price increase is an extra $20, but it’s something else if it’s $500 or $1,000 dollars, she said.

The meeting’s agenda called for a possible vote on a contract with Waste Industries to be the single trash and recycling services vendor for residential properties.

This is the second time this year the town has attempted to sign a contract with Waste Industries to provide townwide trash service. A months-long process that began in fall 2015, was delayed in February after council decided the necessary infrastructure was not in place. Instead, this past summer Dewey increased fines and enforcement to alleviate trash issues.

Also, planned was a discussion on parts of town code that would need to be changed so the plan could go through.

Town attorney Fred Townsend said the work associated with the code changes, such as requiring nonrental residences to have trash service twice weekly, would be heavy lifting.

This concerned council’s newest member, Councilman Gary Persinger. This seems like putting the cart before the horse, he said.

“I’m not seeing a timely end to this process,” said Persinger.

Commissioner Mike Dunmyer attempted to calm fears, saying the town knew which sections of code needed to be changed, but the town would have to wait until contract terms were agreed upon before they took place.

Town Manager Marc Appelbaum, concerned about residential property owners who weren’t given enough time to adjust, was not on board with hammering out this change for the 2017 season.

“We don’t really know how this program is going to work,” he said. “At this stage, I can’t see a pathway.”

By the end of the discussion, commissioners agreed Townsend would call the Waste Industries attorney to see if terms could be worked out in time to allow for a special council meeting in January.

Dewey’s commissioners may not have signed trash contract, but they assigned Appelbaum to get a bid ready for a survey to find out the price of determining the rights of way on town streets.

Appelbaum said the administrative side of town often runs into problems with trash cans left in rights of way and parking tickets. There are hundreds of contested parking tickets a year, said Appelbaum, who estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of the town’s alderman court cases are parking-related.

Before council unanimously agreed to this idea, town property owner Marcia Schieck cautioned the council she wanted to know the endgame and what the town would do with the information.

Appelbaum said he would have a proposal for the commissioners to look at by their January meeting.