Holiday Island city council’s March 15 meeting turned lengthy with discussion of joining the Carroll County Regional Solid Waste Management District (CCSW), which every city in Carroll County is a part of. If joined, CCSW would have exclusive right to collect recyclable materials and solid wastes from businesses and residential housing.
Berryville Mayor, Tim McKinney was there to speak on behalf of CCSW with Executive Director George Boatright. McKinney gave a brief history of how CCSW was established and that for Berryville, it has promoted recycling and works to be competitive in pricing compared to other options.
Holiday Island Mayor Dan Kees told councilmembers that the city is responsible for meeting environmental regulations and that once citizens have their trash picked up, they are required to make sure the trash is disposed of correctly. He said the city does not have the resources or knowledge to oversee multiple trash haulers and the advantage of operating with CCSW is they are licensed and exist under the authority of the state and are the only certified environmental waste cleanup facility in Carroll County.
CCSW currently services the Holiday Island area and has the authority to license small trash haulers to pick up waste in the district. They are also certified by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and must investigate complaints of illegal dumping in the district.
Before the floor was open to the public, council members focused on dealing with minutiae within the contract mostly regarding definitions of services. Major points that were raised included minimum monthly service payments if a home is vacated for a portion of the year. Boatright said, depending on if CCSW or the city decided to handle billing, that a person would need to notify when they are not present on the property for an extended period.
Use of dumpsters was also a concern when it came to property management companies and commercial businesses. Kees said the city would have to establish rules on where dumpsters could be located for those who handle trash for multiple properties at a time.
Boatright also assuaged concern when asked about changing rates due to the rise and fall of the consumer price index as mentioned in the contract. He said that they have never changed rates even when prices for gas rose to $4 a gallon in 2008.
Discussion was opened to the public present and Boatright and McKinney answered questions of both the public and council members.
Holiday Island has 1,600 water meters and McKinney said that if the district had exclusive rights to haul away waste, they would not need to increase equipment or personnel. Boatright said they already cover most of Holiday Island and they’d add a sixth truck.
Nathaniel Mann of Osage Trash Service questioned if they are requested to do cleanup in Holiday Island if they would have to use CCSW containers to dispose of waste materials and Boatright said yes. Mann noted that this would mean the customer would have to pay for the container and the cleanup service and that cost could be an undue burden. He said if they can’t afford the cleanups they’ll be in trouble and if they are fined it would make the situation worse.
Kees said he understood, but there were no other cities in the county they could move to improve the situation if they didn’t have the money to afford the trash service.
Another member of the public said they use Osage Trash Service and asked if other cities had multiple providers of trash service. When given a negative she said she had received lackluster service from CCSW in the past and that she’d rather continue doing business with a small business.
This started discussion on whether multiple services should be allowed to operate in the city limits rather than limiting it through an exclusive contract. Kees argued that the city could not handle multiple trash hauler services while making sure they were all following state regulations. This sparked pushback from the audience, who argued if they are in-line with state regulations, they should be able to operate. Kees also argued that with multiple trash hauling companies in the city there was no way to be assured everyone in Holiday Island is paying to have their trash disposed of.
Mann asked why there was a need to mandate a bill for everyone with Kees replying that if a minimum payment was required, people would be more likely to use the service rather than illegally dumping.
Another member of the public questioned if they can load their trailer with waste from construction and haul it to CCSW or if the exclusive contract would make such hauling illegal. Kees said there is no language in the ordinance or contract saying that someone cannot haul their own trash to the dump. Members of the public offered possible solutions to the use of dumpsters, suggesting a corral and other options.
In the end, Ord. 2022-004 which would establish the exclusive contract with CCSW was tabled until the next meeting.
Other Items
- Resolution 2022-003 for continued rental for a sheriff’s substation in the Holiday Island business park was tabled.
- Resolution 2022-002 authorizing the mayor to apply for a state grant assisting in street repair passed unanimously.