For years Mount Olive has had a town ordinance regulating the pick up of bulk curbside trash. However, the collection of a fee for that service has not been enforced. That changed as of July 1, when the town implemented fees for that service. Meeting Tuesday night, July 18, during an ordinance review session, the town board looked to fine tune the process. From left are Commissioners Barbara Kornegay, Delreese Simmons, Public Works Director Mitchell Davis, Town Manager Jammie Royall, Utilities Director Jeremy King, Mayor Pro-tem Steve Wiggins, Town Attorney Carroll Turner and Commissioner Tommy Brown. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
In this file photo, a Mount Olive public works crew picks up trash on South Breazeale Avenue. As of July 1, the town began enforcing the portion of a town ordinance authorizing a fee for the pick up of special bulk curb-side collections of debris. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
The Mount Olive Town Board continues to massage its plans on how to best implement fees for special bulk curb-side collection of debris.
Of concern as well is that while the fees have been discussed at town board ordinance review sessions, they have not been discussed at any regular board sessions.
But while the fees are new, the ordinance governing bulk curbside collection, including fees, has been on the books for years — just never enforced.
The ordinance reads:
“Any property owner desiring special bulk collections of loose matter, not in closed containers or tied in bundles, may request a special collection for which a special charge may be made. If sufficient manpower and equipment are available, town personnel are authorized to make the special collections, provided the person making the request agrees to pay for the labor and equipment used at the rate specified by the public works director.
“Rubbish such as worn-out furniture, refrigerators, stoves, and the like, will be picked up by the town only by specific request made to the public works department, at which time these items shall be placed behind the curb for collection.”
The town does not pick up building/construction materials; tires, dirt; rocks; cement; bricks; batteries; paint or hazardous materials.
Meeting Tuesday night, July 18, in the latest in a series of ordinance and project review sessions, commissioners spent about 30 minutes of the 90-minute session haggling over the finer points of implementing the fee that includes $25 for small loads, $50 for medium loads and $100 for large loads.
Those points included educating the public, setting a reasonable time frame, how to handle white goods (home appliances such as ovens and refrigerators) and whether or not landlords are responsible for the cost of picking up debris left by tenants who move out before they can be billed for the associated fee.
“The public does not know about this,” said Mitchell Davis, town public works director. “They are finding out about it one pile at a time. That’s the issue.”
The board agreed with Commissioner Tommy Brown’s suggestion to do a mailing about the process and fees to all in-town water customers.
It was added that the mailing should be in English, Spanish and Creole.
Previously, town crews would pick up a bulk pile without having to be notified or charging a fee. However, as of July 1, residents must call 919-658-9517 to request a pick up and fee assessment.
Now, when town crews find a bulk pile where a pick up has not been requested, an orange door hanger will be left at the residence explaining the process.
It notes that the pick up will be at the town’s discretion and that the charge will be added to the resident’s water bill.
Residents who pile a bulk load for curbside collection and then fail to take it to the town’s recycling center or to make arrangements to have it collected within seven days of receiving the notification face fines and penalties that can total hundreds of dollars.
The time period between when the notice is served and when a resident is fined was a sticking point for the board.
It is thoroughly documented when a door hanger placard is placed, Davis said.
“We have passed out about 35 of these,” he said. “I have not had one call complaining, but I have not had one pile mover either. I passed out some this morning.
“I have to write the day when we passed it out, and seven days later if we change it, I think it is 15 right now. We need to change it back to seven or even sooner, the amount of time we give those people to remove those piles or pay us to get that pile.”
Davis said he thinks that during a previous meeting the time was reduced from 30 to 15 days. That is still entirely too long to leave bulk trash along the curb, he continued.
He suggested 48 hours was enough time.
However, Commissioner Barbara Kornegay questioned whether or not public works could handle a 48-hour turnaround.She was concerned as well that seven days did not provide residents, many of whom work, time to respond. Also, it could happen while someone was on vacation, Kornegay said.
Commissioner Delreese Simmons disagreed saying seven days is too long.
Simmons told Kornegay seven days might be fine in her district, but not in his.
After several minutes of haggling over the time frame, Kornegay appeared to lose patience with the back-and-forth, saying it should be seven days.
That was agreed to by board consensus.
If a resident does not remove the pile, or pay the town to do so before the seven days end, the matter is turned over to Justin Hill, the town’s code enforcement officer who can issue a fine and possible penalties that can be in the hundreds of dollars.
There is no charge for town residents to carry items to the recycling center located on Talton Avenue.
Davis said that during his research he found that some towns do not allow bulk piles on the street.
“That would be wonderful,” he said.
In that case, it would all go in the back yard, Kornegay said.
“I would still like to not offer this service — just not offer it — have them carry it to Talton Avenue or the landfill at Dudley,” Davis said. “Then we don’t have to worry with any of this.
“Then if they don’t carry it, we fine them. But that is just an option. Some of the municipalities we talked to did not offer this service. They gave you an address where you took your stuff.”
It was an option commissioners were not interested in.
“We are going to offer the service,”Wiggins said. “And here is why — not everybody has the ability to take something to Talton Avenue.”
Wiggins also questioned why the notices left at residences included white goods.
The town is able to sell those items to recyclers, and it is not right for the town to charge residents to pick up such items and then turn around and make money by selling them, Wiggins added.
Commissioners agreed that more often than not “metal pirates” grab those items before the town has a chance to pick them up.
It is an orientation/transition period while people become aware of what the ordinance has been and that the town is enforcing it, Wiggins said.
“I think we are going to have to be very patient,” he continued. “We are giving them a grace period this time around. He is giving them a notice as he is picking it up so they will know from this point on.”
Davis said he can make it work.
“But I just don’t know if it will work as fast as you want it to work,” he added.
Town Attorney Carroll Turner raised the issue concerning the liability of landlords should a tenant move out leaving a pile of items on the curb.
It is a common problem, he said.
They have a landlord, who is contacted, Davis said.
“All you have to do, the quicker you figure it out, get with us in the water department and we can hold their (tenant’s) deposit,” said Jeremy King, town utilities director. “So we can get the money.”
Turner said he wanted to clarify the point since the tenant is gone and the only one left is the landlord.
