SPRINGFIELD — Springfield City Commissioners are growing tired of the constant stream of complaints about trash service provider Waste Management.
On Monday, the commission discussed instituting $50 fines when trucks miss pickups, an occurrence Springfield employees have witnessed on multiple occasions. The fines are stipulated in the contract with Waste Management.
But a Waste Management official said the company has hired more workers to deal with Springfield collection.
“Waste Management has added additional people and equipment to address the current high volume of yard waste and bulky household waste seen in the town of Springfield,” Waste Management Senior District Manager David Steinmetz said. “Through these additional efforts, Waste Management has been able to remediate much of this issue in Springfield. We respectfully request that the citizens of Springfield assist in efficient and safe collection of this waste by placing all leaves and yard clippings in plastic bags as stated in the contract.”
Waste Management has been Springfield’s solid waste service provider since 2011 and the city pays the company between $46,000 and $50,000 per month, which fluctuates with the number of households receiving service. Trash, mostly yard waste, is separate from garbage, which is mostly household disposables. Waste Management handles both.
“I tell people to put it in the can,” City Clerk Lee Penton said of yard waste. “We’ve had no issue with that.”
The commission also discussed filing a breach of contract order, which would then give the company 30 days to comply with complaints. The contract with Waste Management runs through 2016.
“No commission would ever given them a contract again,” Penton said.
The alternative to Waste Management is basically one company: Waste Pro, Penton said.
Homeless shelters
The commission also discussed an ordinance limiting homeless shelters in the city. The city currently has a moratorium on homeless shelters, which it has renewed twice. City Attorney Kevin Obos said he would draft an ordinance similar to ordinances the city has on the books limiting sex offender residence and adult entertainment complexes. The city’s sex offender ordinance states that sex offenders cannot reside within 2,500 feet of churches, schools, day cares or certain residential areas. The adult entertainment ordinance, which includes porn shops, tattoo parlors and bars, requires those establishments to be 1,500 feet away from churches, schools and day cares.
In other business, the commission:
-Discussed having the Bay County Sheriff perform an audit of its police force to potentially find ways to save money. Springfield will impose a first ever property tax for the 2014-15 budget between 3.4 and 3.5 mills.
-Heard a plan to make Fifth Street, between Helen and School avenues, a westbound only one-way street to ease school traffic.
-Discussed a plan to purchase new radios to comply with Bay County requirements, with payments staring in 2016-17. The radios will cost $75,098 for a 10-year contract.
No action was taken at Monday’s meeting.