WASTE MANAGEMENT: City Foots Cleanup Bill

HOMEOWNER FAILED TO REMOVE GARBAGE PILED IN FRONT OF HOME

By Steve Caraway

Monday, November 30, 2009

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SPRINGDALE — The city continues to educate residents about the rules of its bulky waste collection program more than two years after it began.

A recent example was a home at 707 Cambridge St. where a mound of garbage covered the lawn for about three weeks. City workers finally removed the trash, but only after trying to get the homeowner to follow city rules.

“This is a classic example of how not to put out bulky waste,” said Sam Goade, director of public works. “We have 99 percent of the people doing it right. That other 1 percent can create problems that cause hardships for other people.”

The problem started after a call to the Public Works Department for a bulky waste pickup on Oct. 20.

“I feel like they piled all the trash in the house by the street expecting Waste Management to pick it up,” Goade said. “Waste Management doesn’t pick up loose garbage. It has to be bagged. Then they asked for a bulky waste pickup.”

The bulky waste program does not pick up household trash either, bagged or otherwise, Goade said. After seeing the pile, the department asked the caller to separate household trash from the bulky items.

The homeowner never called back to report separation of the trash was complete, Goade said. The owner, an elderly woman, probably was not able to separate the trash, he said.

Later investigation showed ownership of the house was transferred from the resident to a fi nancial company, said Mike Chamlee, director of the Buildings Department. Chamlee’s office became involved when someone called to complain about the trash. The first call came in early November, said Bobby Nivens, code enforcement off cer.

“I went out, looked at the trash and posted a notice giving them seven days to clean it up,” Nivens said. “We legally can’t do anything until seven days after we give them notice.”

By this time, the woman who lived in the house had moved to a nursing home, Chamlee said. A title search turned up a new owner, possibly the result of a foreclosure, he said.

The Building Department scheduled a recheck of the house before Goade decided to have the bulky waste program remove the pile.

“It wasn’t fair to the neighbors,” Goade said. “It becomes a refuge for rats and all types of other vermin.”

The city had to pay a little extra for disposal of the trash, since tipping fees at Waste Management are higher for household trash than bulky waste, he said.

Since the bulky waste program started in July 2007, the city has worked out several kinks, Goade said. A huge demand in the spring and summer of 2008 caused the program to run six weeks behind, Goade said.

Terry Anderson, a supervisor in the department, came up with an idea that put the pick ups back on schedule, Goade said. The department now tells people to put their waste out on Monday, with the pickup to come some time during the week. Previously, an appointment was made for a pick up.

Crews pick up one ward per day, instead of driving from one side of town to another to follow the appointment schedule.

“On Friday, I’ll divide the pickups out by ward and give them to the crew,” said Lisa Smith, a clerk who takes the calls for pickup.

The Building Department cited the new owners of 707 Cambridge St. for additional trash left in the backyard, Chamlee said.

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