Amelia Webber, Gazette Staff — ameliagazette@gmail.com
As 2014 comes to a close and the citizens of Northport embark on a new year, some residents continue to experience the same old issues, including city trash services.
Chris Beasley said he first noticed an issue with the way trash pickup was handled in his subdivision when he moved to Northport four years ago.
“I was cleaning up around the yard, we had a large pile out at the curb and it sit there for a month before it was all picked up,” Beasley said.
Beasley lives just past the Post Office on Highway 82 West in an area that used to be known as Harper subdivision.
“If anyone in my neighborhood puts a large pile of trash out to be picked up, the trash truck will just get one scoop about the size of a wheel barrow and make a huge mess,” he said.
Beasley said he has called the public works office and spoken to at least two city employees, who cited high fuel prices as the catalyst for the service, despite the fact that fuel prices have plummeted over recent months.
“The lady at the public works office says that it's because the landfill is across town and they are trying to save on fuel, then the next week it's because ‘if they pick up one large pile then they can't pick up anyone else's trash.’ It's always one excuse after the other.”
Some have speculated the city has designated certain subdivisions as top priority over others in terms of trash pickup, although there is no solid evidence to make the allegation factual.
“I spoke with one of the (trash management) employees and he told me that their boss tells them to only pick up all trash in the Northwood lake area no matter how big or small,” Beasley said. “I know they don't ever leave trash in front of the mayor’s house or any of the council people’s houses.”
But Mayor Bobby Herndon denied the allegations of prioritizing neighborhoods for trash service.
“No,” he said when asked by The Gazette about the allegations. “Is somebody saying there is? If that citizen gave you his name, if they can call me and get the name of that employee who told them that I would like that. Not that I am gonna punish them necessarily, but I want to take that information to the city administrator and say we’ve got complaints about some of our trash guys.”
Herndon did say, however, that there are some jobs you can’t expect the city to do for you.
“If the pile is that big, to fill up a truck, we’ll have to tell the people who put that pile out there to call a private company to carry it out,” Herndon said. “If it’s just ordinary stuff…I don’t really know (what’s reasonable)... but if it’s a pile so big, that it’s gonna fill up one truck I wanna know what in the world is out there!”
Brooke Starnes, Director of Public Works in Northport, said the only trash her department does not pick up are items left behind by private contractors.
“Most of the time, when it’s not trash left behind by a contractor, we’ll fill the truck up as much as we can, finish our route, and then we’ll come back and get (anything we left behind) by the end of the day,” Starnes said. “It’s not fair to spend two hours on one household’s trash pile, but we will do one pickup, get as much as we can, go to the landfill, then go back and get the rest of that pile. One truck full, though, that’s a lot of trash.”
Beasley suggested the city send out a survey to local neighborhoods and residents, asking them how satisfied they are with the services the city provides to their area.
“The way I think, it would help solve the problem if the city could send out a survey every few months rating the trash department and other services and make adjustments where they’re needed. This would be a good place to start, because the mayor may not beware of these problems,” Beasley said.
Pamela Jones Beasley suggests more supervision could help resolve trash pickup concerns.
“If the bosses have to come out and look at the job not getting done more often, it might stop,” she wrote in a Facebook comment.
Herndon said the city has never done any type of satisfaction survey, and there are no plans to do something of that nature in the near future.
“I would suggest that anybody who is dissatisfied with anything come straight to the horses butt...that’s me,” he joked. “Come straight here and voice your concerns (at city hall or city council meetings).”
Amelia Webber, Gazette Staff — ameliagazette@gmail.com
As 2014 comes to a close and the citizens of Northport embark on a new year, some residents continue to experience the same old issues, including city trash services.
Chris Beasley said he first noticed an issue with the way trash pickup was handled in his subdivision when he moved to Northport four years ago.
“I was cleaning up around the yard, we had a large pile out at the curb and it sit there for a month before it was all picked up,” Beasley said.
Beasley lives just past the Post Office on Highway 82 West in an area that used to be known as Harper subdivision.
“If anyone in my neighborhood puts a large pile of trash out to be picked up, the trash truck will just get one scoop about the size of a wheel barrow and make a huge mess,” he said.
Beasley said he has called the public works office and spoken to at least two city employees, who cited high fuel prices as the catalyst for the service, despite the fact that fuel prices have plummeted over recent months.
“The lady at the public works office says that it's because the landfill is across town and they are trying to save on fuel, then the next week it's because ‘if they pick up one large pile then they can't pick up anyone else's trash.’ It's always one excuse after the other.”
Some have speculated the city has designated certain subdivisions as top priority over others in terms of trash pickup, although there is no solid evidence to make the allegation factual.
“I spoke with one of the (trash management) employees and he told me that their boss tells them to only pick up all trash in the Northwood lake area no matter how big or small,” Beasley said. “I know they don't ever leave trash in front of the mayor’s house or any of the council people’s houses.”
But Mayor Bobby Herndon denied the allegations of prioritizing neighborhoods for trash service.
“No,” he said when asked by The Gazette about the allegations. “Is somebody saying there is? If that citizen gave you his name, if they can call me and get the name of that employee who told them that I would like that. Not that I am gonna punish them necessarily, but I want to take that information to the city administrator and say we’ve got complaints about some of our trash guys.”
Herndon did say, however, that there are some jobs you can’t expect the city to do for you.
“If the pile is that big, to fill up a truck, we’ll have to tell the people who put that pile out there to call a private company to carry it out,” Herndon said. “If it’s just ordinary stuff…I don’t really know (what’s reasonable)... but if it’s a pile so big, that it’s gonna fill up one truck I wanna know what in the world is out there!”
Brooke Starnes, Director of Public Works in Northport, said the only trash her department does not pick up are items left behind by private contractors.
“Most of the time, when it’s not trash left behind by a contractor, we’ll fill the truck up as much as we can, finish our route, and then we’ll come back and get (anything we left behind) by the end of the day,” Starnes said. “It’s not fair to spend two hours on one household’s trash pile, but we will do one pickup, get as much as we can, go to the landfill, then go back and get the rest of that pile. One truck full, though, that’s a lot of trash.”
Beasley suggested the city send out a survey to local neighborhoods and residents, asking them how satisfied they are with the services the city provides to their area.
“The way I think, it would help solve the problem if the city could send out a survey every few months rating the trash department and other services and make adjustments where they’re needed. This would be a good place to start, because the mayor may not beware of these problems,” Beasley said.
Pamela Jones Beasley suggests more supervision could help resolve trash pickup concerns.
“If the bosses have to come out and look at the job not getting done more often, it might stop,” she wrote in a Facebook comment.
Herndon said the city has never done any type of satisfaction survey, and there are no plans to do something of that nature in the near future.
“I would suggest that anybody who is dissatisfied with anything come straight to the horses butt...that’s me,” he joked. “Come straight here and voice your concerns (at city hall or city council meetings).”
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