Council delays vote to ask city residents to pay for large item removal

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015, 11:45 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council discussed changes to its solid waste rules that if approved will require city residents to pay a fee to have discarded bulky items removed that are currently hauled away for free.

Mayor John Royalty explains to the council some of the abuses of the city’s currently free bulky item pickup.

An updated solid waste ordinance was introduced Tuesday night at the council’s regular meeting that would, among other changes, require residents to call City Hall to request to have tree limbs or bulky items removed.

The ordinance would establish a minimum fee of $15 for bulky items up to a pickup truck load, or about 4 cubic yards. Bulky item loads larger than a pickup truck load would be subject to additional fees at a rate of $15 per 4 cubic yard load.

The fee would added to a residents’ garbage fee the month after the pickup.

Mayor John Royalty told the council that when tenants are evicted, landlords move their belongings out to the curb and leave them. The city has picked up large items when they appear to be discarded, but the issue of removing the items really rests with the landlords, not the city, he told the council.

“I’ve never felt its the city’s responsibility to pick that up,” Royalty said. “My take is if I do that, its my responsiblity to deal with it. That’s what we’re having problems with.”

Larry Hamilton, public works director, told the council that the garbage collection department has had more than its share of worker’s comp claims. The revised solid waste rules and the purchase of front-loading garbage trucks and a new truck to lift bulky items are all efforts to reduce injuries among employees, he said.

Tree limb collection is another city service that’s sometimes abused, Royalty said. Individuals hired to trim tree limbs have left their limbs for the city to remove.

Councilman Bobby Simpson questioned if the fee was necessary for residents who only use the bulky item removal once in a while.

“I agree we’ve got a problem with people abusing it, but I don’t want to abuse a little old lady who has a mattress to pick up every 20 years,” Simpson said. “I don’t think we ought to charge them.”

Councilman Fred Hagan asked if a compromise was possible on charging those who abused the service. Royalty said perhaps the city could offer residents one free pickup per year.

At Hamilton’s suggestion, the council tabled the issue for more consideration on how to best reach a compromise that would not penalize the occasional user of the service.

Molly Bodkin, a Bardstown High School freshman and member of the school’s string orchestra, reads a request for donations before the Bardstown City Council Tuesday night to help defray the cost of a trip to Washington, D.C.

The proposed ordinance adds old carpet, carpet padding, drywall and used lumber to the definition of “construction and demolition waste,” which are prohibited from being included in regular weekly curbside pickups if the size and/or weight is to large to compact in a garbage truck.

In other business, the council:

— listened to a funding request from Bardstown High School freshman Molly Bodkin who was seeking donations to help the Bardstown High School Strings Orchestra band trip to Washington, D.C. The council took no action on the request.

— heard a report from Hamilton of plans to extend the parking lot in front of city Hall by 70 feet to create an additional 14 parking spaces;

— honored the Rev. Bill Hammer for his decade of service as pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral by proclaiming Sept. 25, 2015, as Father William D. Hammer Day;

— approved a tax assessment moratorium for Talbott Tavern Inc., the new owners of 103 West Stephen Foster Ave. on the Court Square.

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