The Pilot News - Culver Town Council talks trash

Town Manager Michael Doss said he has created a draft of bid documents which could be used if the town aimed at contracting with one waste handling company for all residents, doing away with competing handlers contracting with individual citizens today. Council President Sally Ricciardi asked Doss to send the recently-completed draft to each Council member.
Council member Ralph Winters expressed his opposition to the move, citing problems experienced in nearby Plymouth, where city-wide trash service was recently adopted. Winters also noted the town of Argos is “having some real financial issues with (its town-wide trash service),” though he added some of the problem there “is due to some very poor policies years ago… subsidizing trash pickup out of other funds.
“I am personally afraid of whole thing,” Winters said.
Town Building Inspector Russ Mason responded to Winters by noting the proposed plan in Culver uses no town funds, adding complaints in Plymouth have centered on some residents’ difficulties moving the new, larger trash containers and a shift in trash container locations from alleys to streetside. Culver, Mason pointed out, has long had streetside trash pickup. “We can save the citizens of this town a lot of money,” Mason added, referring to the likelihood of substantial reductions in trash hauling fees per customer under a town-wide contract. “We shouldn’t throw up non-substantial roadblocks (to the town-wide service).”
Council member Ed Pinder raised concerns that “some of our little old ladies and little old men probably take their trash to a daughter’s or son’s house now, and now are some of these people going to pay for part of my trash pickup?”
“I’ve heard the stories of the little old ladies,” responded Mason, “but how many people in town are there who do that? I don’t think there are many.”
Clerk Treasurer Casey Howard said as a citizen she would love the convenience and savings of town-wide service, “but as Clerk Treasurer, Argos is losing money. If someone doesn’t pay their bill, we can cut their service, but we can’t do anything to make them pay it.”
Council member Ginny Munroe suggested administration fees should cover the likely low number of residents refusing to pay, unless the town doesn’t charge enough to cover its costs adequately.
Mason said such situations should be dealt with “on a case-by-case basis. I would be willing to pay to subsidize those who are in a truly poverty (stricken) situation.”
Audience member Mike Stallings noted many people without paid trash service use public and private dumpsters to illegally dispose of their trash, something Munroe said she and husband Grant have witnessed repeatedly as well. Ricciardi added Culver Academies dumpsters are abused in a similar fashion.
Audience member Jim Hahn, who originally suggested the Council consider town-wide service, said “local businesses are subsidizing our trash pickup. I don’t believe this! When you look at the rather dramatic difference in the amount of money somebody has to pay for trash pickup, I believe the people in this town will pay less money and get as good or better service as now (if the town contracts for town-wide service). Plus you’ll have fewer trucks running up and down the streets of this town on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (due to three different waste haulers operating locally today)…there are a lot of positives to this.”
The Council agreed to solicit public opinion on the matter at a December 1, 6:30 p.m. town hall meeting in the form of a work session at the town hall (see Brief this issue).
In other discussion, the much-discussed question of Culver’s Emergency Medical Service’s potentially shifting to a paramedic-based service, raised around this time last year, was brought up by Ricciardi on behalf of current EMS director Millie Sytsma, who couldn’t attend the meeting.
Ricciardi, noting the Culver-Union Township EMS elected Chuck Dilts as 2010 director at its annual elections November 1, said she believes Dilts is in favor of the service going paramedic, though she wasn’t at liberty to speak for him. Ricciardi said she is in favor of the move. “If we’re going to have to pay personnel, we should hire the highest level we can get. I would like to get a group together and make a discussion of it to see if we can come up with some kind of plan rather than let it sit on the back burner.”
Ricciardi suggested a committee with representatives from the EMS, Town Council, and Union Township board.
Mason asked what has changed since the matter was discussed last year, adding he understood the EMS and town boards had reached a consensus the paramedic option was too costly and paid PRN service would be preferable.
Ricciardi noted the number of advanced EMTs available for Culver’s service is dropping yearly.
Munroe noted the matter “comes up each year at budget time” and agreed a group should be formed to conduct an in-depth study of the feasibility and costs involved in each option.
Winters questioned whether ambulance runs requiring a fully trained paramedic – as opposed to the presently-used advanced EMTs and PRNs – constitute enough traffic in the Culver area to justify paramedic service. Ricciardi noted Culver’s EMS had two ambulance calls within the last month requiring the more advanced training of paramedic assistance, but in both cases Plymouth’s paramedic service was unavailable. “That’s what we’re running into,” Ricciardi added. Currently, Culver pays Plymouth’s paramedic service on a per-run basis.
Winters raised the possibility of “our neighboring community to the east” combining its EMS service with Culver’s. He also noted shifting to a paramedic service would require new standards as to the second person riding in the ambulance. Ricciardi, responding to a query from Munroe as to the possibility of increased revenues should Culver become a paramedic service, said she felt offering full paramedic service to some of the smaller areas surrounding Culver could potentially increase the number of runs for Culver’s service and hence increase revenues as well.
“Given the ageing populous in the US,” added Munroe, longevity is much longer and that’s a factor that’s a little different in Culver than maybe in other towns, which we can’t ignore.”
Union Township Trustee Marlene Mahler agreed the shortfall in volunteers is an ongoing problem.
“Paid people is where we’re going to have to go,” she explained. “You just can’t get volunteers anymore, whether you get paid PRNs or paramedics. I think this group can look at options and come back before budget time.”
Mahler added concerns as to recent proposals to change local government at a state level. Ricciardi added such changes would impact not only the EMS, but fire, parks and recreations, and other local entities.
The Council also passed on first resolution the adoption of a written fiscal plan created by Umbaugh and Associates for annexation of three properties on the south side of Culver owned by McGhee, Rogers, and Howard, in response to a petition from two of the three requesting the move. The Council also approved the annexation itself on first reading. A public hearing will be scheduled and notices published as the matter progresses.
Ricciardi said she will discuss with current EMS director Millie Sytsma and director-elect Chuck Dilts the question of EMS computers joining a proposed network of town-owned computers per a plan by Stallings Consulting, which has been contracted to shore up all town computer systems.
The work, according to town clerk Howard, will include setup of remote data backups, firewalls, shared anti-virus software, and currently standalone computers joined to a local network. Howard noted the EMS would like to purchase a new computer, but she didn’t feel comfortable with the purchase since Stallings has not been able to access EMS computers.
Concerns had been raised in previous discussions as to confidentiality issues with regards to EMS computers. Ricciardi said concerns were raised on the EMS side when Stallings changed passwords on an EMS computer without communicating with EMS personnel.
Ricciardi said she will seek permission from Sytsma to allow Dilts to take over handling of the matter in order to expedite Stallings’ work and the purchase of the new computer.
Town attorney Jim Clevenger, during his report to the Council, was asked by Council vote to send a letter to Culver’s Parks and Recreations board reminding that board of legalities concerning gifts and special committees. The move came after heated discussion at recent Council and Park Board meetings over monies donated to the Vandalia Village playground project.
The Council also accepted a bid from New Age Construction to purchase Culver’s former Street Department dump truck for $1,700. Sealed bids were opened at the meeting.