Trash hike coming

DUNKIRK — Residents will need to dig deeper into their pockets and purses next year to pay for trash collection here.
Council members approved entering into a new three-year contract with BestWay Disposal of Randolph County Monday night, calling for price increases each year over the current $9.65 per month.
BestWay, the city’s current trash disposal service, submitted the only bid Monday, offering three options: service for one year, starting Jan. 1, 2011, at a cost of $10.86 per household or small business per month; a two-year contract with a cost of $10.44 for the first year and $10.86 for the second year; a three-year contract with a cost of $10.04 for the first year, $10.44 for the second year, and $10.86 for the third year.
All these figures are based on a per unit per month rate.
Also with the new contract there will be an extra charge for having more than one trash container. Extra containers will be available for $3.50 per month and billed directly to the customer at $10.50 per quarter. However, BestWay representative Buck Landrum explained that people who already have more than one container will not be charged for those.
The extra containers will be allowed under a grandfather clause arrangement, but any requests for additional containers will be assessed the $3.50 charge.
After a short review of the BestWay proposal, Mayor Ron Hunt and city council members agreed to approved the three-year proposal from BestWay.
City attorney Bill Hinkle advised that a formal contract should be drawn up, and Landrum agreed to work with Hinkle on that. BestWay’s current contract expires at the end of this year.
Also council members approved increasing the trash collection charge for residents, received on city water bills, to the $10.04 per unit per month rate, starting in January.
Several members of Monday night’s council audience questioned the $3.50 charge for extra containers, saying at some homes they were necessary.
However, Landrum explained that when the Albany and Dunkirk automated-truck collection programs were first started this had been allowed, but BestWay was now charging all its new customers for extra containers. The people who already have two or more containers have sort of “slipped through the cracks,” Landrum said, and they will be allowed to continue using those extra containers at no extra charge.
And although winter is about to begin, a hot topic at Monday night’s council meeting was next spring’s Glass Days Festival.
Members of the Glass Days Committee and several residents discussed whether to continue having the annual festival in Dunkirk City Park or returning to the former downtown location, now that street improvements along Ind. 167 have been completed.
An informal yes-or-no survey to determine the feelings of local residents was started at city hall a couple weeks ago, but Monday night several audience members questioned the validity of that approach. They said some people were voting more than once, and there was no identification policy being used to determine who could participate in the poll.
Dunkirk resident Rick Wayman suggested that a questionnaire or ballots be included with city water bills.
Resident Pam Bunch went one step further, saying the issue could be placed on the 2011 city election ballot for the city’s registered voters to decide. “I will agree with you (Wayman) that the survey is not working,” Bunch said.
Mayor Hunt said he also agreed with the residents who felt the current informal survey approach was not working out. The mayor said he felt a fairer, more accurate approach was needed.
Hunt agreed to have city officials study the issue further to come up with a better way of gathering public opinion on the issue.
Meanwhile Glass Days Committee representative Roberta Garringer said electrical service improvements in the downtown area would be needed before the carnival attractions could be brought back downtown again. She said that the committee did not have the funds to do that.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, council members:
•Approved the appointments of Dorothy Mays, Lisa Geesaman and Brian Jobe to the board of directors of the West Jay Community Center.
•Discussed the possibility of setting up a city of Dunkirk Web site with a Discover Dunkirk theme. Dunkirk resident Tony Franklin said he would start up and operate the Website on a volunteer basis. Council members agreed to study the offer further.
•Approved the payment of paving bills to E & B Paving Inc., Anderson, for resurfacing Blackford and Hoover Avenues at a cost of $31,065, and Moore Avenue at a cost of $37,430.
•Noted that Dunkirk’s annual Feel the Warmth of Christmas Festival would be Monday, Nov. 29, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with Santa Claus arriving to talk to children at 6 p.m. in the lobby of First Financial Bank.[[In-content Ad]]