Twice a week trash collection kicked to the curb

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

An effort to return to twice a week garbage pick-up put forth by Key West City Commissioner Tony Yanitz disintegrated July 23 when the proposal couldn’t even find a second.

Part of the lack of support was that three commissioners, Clayton Lopez, Billy Wardlow and Yanitz himself, were absent from the meeting. That left Commissioner Mark Rossi as the lone supporter among the three other commissioners who attended the meeting.

“I’m a twice a week man. I’m not going to change my spots,” Rossi said, referring to a vote by commissioners in May 2014, when a new contract with Waste Management, the city’s trash hauler was renewed. Rossi voted for the contract, which increased the once a week collection schedule, which city officials had credited with boosting the local recycling rate, to twice a week.

Mayor Craig Cates supported the proposal to let voters make the decision whether to return to twice a week collection in the Oct. 6 election. Cates, however, said he wants to stay with once a week collection.

“My only goal [for the October referendum] is to give citizens input on something that will cost them money,” he said.

The estimated cost for Waste Management to collect trash – not yard waste or recycling – twice a week is $496,000 a year, or approximately $3 a month per household. Yanitz said he has heard numerous complaints from his constituents about flies and maggots in their garbage cans. He did not support the idea of a referendum on the issue, however, saying it would be “passing the buck” to voters.

Rossi made a motion to pass the referendum resolution but there was no second, which killed the proposal.

Commissioner Teri Johnston said that the city has received 17 complaints about the once a week schedule. She pointed out that Waste Management has offered to work with those households, and any others, to help them better manage their garbage to reduce insects and smell.

Resident Randy Becker, who said he walks frequently around the city, said the smell and insect problem was worse when there was twice a week collection because trash cans were out on sidewalks more often, leading people on the street to put their trash on top of the cans. And Mark Songer, president of Last Stand, a local environmental group, urged the commission not to return to twice a week pick-up.

“It is possible, even with the summer heat, to reduce odors to a tolerable level and eliminate pest issues. But it will require some individuals to change their behavior and approach garbage disposal with a different attitude,” he said.

Peary Court purchase postponed

In other action, commissioners postponed voting on a proposal to purchase the Peary Court housing complex for $55 million as a way to create more affordable housing. City Manager Jim Scholl said staff needs more time to appraise the property and evaluate the $55 million offer – which the owners of the property have tentatively accepted – and cannot do the needed due diligence in time to put the proposal on the Oct. 6 election ballot.

“There is no reasonable way to get this on the October referendum. We are moving forward to do the due diligence to see if we have a real opportunity here,” he said.

Scholl said that after meeting with the Peary Court owners, a more reasonable time frame would be to put the issue on the March referendum.

 

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