“Under-equipped, understaffed and undervalued” is how one of Jefferson County’s mayors described Waste Management of Arkansas’ (WM) approach to trash pickup in the Jefferson County area.
White Hall Mayor Noel Foster was forced to take action earlier this year to clean up his city.
“Right now, our residential service is adequate because we stay on Waste Management. Historically, the Jefferson County area has been underserved,” Foster said.
The same can’t be said for White Hall’s commercial customers.
Last May, Foster fielded a rising pile of complaints about Waste Management regarding commercial non-trash pickup.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
These included dumpsters not being emptied and overflowing with refuse. The garbage attracted rats and other vermin, he said.
“Basically, it was a public health emergency, and we were getting no response from Waste Management,” Foster said.
Foster said the city of White Hall’s attorney, Tom Owens, sent WM a formal complaint regarding their failure to provide service.
The city took the necessary steps to address the problem and hired Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), an Illinois-based company, to clean up the mess.
Foster said on May 16, 17 and 18, “We hired them to come in and empty the trash receptacles of restaurants and hotels and other businesses in White Hall.”
“They emptied every commercial container in the city, and most of them had to be dumped twice,” Foster said.
The emergency pickup cost approximately $11,000, but Foster said WM “paid the contract company directly.”
AGREES WITH COUNTY MOVE
Foster said he wasn’t surprised by Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson’s decision to trash WM’s waste collection services contract.
Robinson “wholeheartedly” agreed with Foster’s statements about WM’s poor service to the area, adding, “We’re like the step-child of the state.”
Robinson said before his decision not to renew WM’s contract, he repeatedly met with WM management to “discuss the issues, and they promised to rectify those issues.”
They did not, he said.
Like White Hall, Robinson said he was dealing with “an environmental issue that could impact human health.”
There were “complaints of garbage and trash on the ground, trash blowing everywhere and animals going through it. I was even getting calls from people with the city of Pine Bluff.”
Pine Bluff’s WM agreement is separate from White Hall’s and Jefferson County’s.
Also, before deciding to go with LRS, Robinson said he had the decision vetted by Jefferson County Attorney Terry Wynne.
In a Dec. 13 Pine Bluff Commercial article, WM’s Public Sector Manager Jamie Vernon questioned the legality of awarding its solid waste contract to LRS without putting it up for bid.
Robinson said, “It seems ironic that they knew all the issues, but they’re complaining about our actions.”
Waste Management officials have publicly questioned Robinson’s move and have asked the Jefferson County Quorum Court to review the situation. In a related matter, JP Lloyd Franklin II has gone to court to attempt to stop Robinson’s new agreement with LRS from going into effect because, Franklin said, the county should have sought bids for the work.
During a call last week, Vernon said he had no further comment other than to state, “We haven’t received any formal notice from the county on service issues. We try to keep an open line of communication with customers.”
The WM contract ends Dec. 31, with LRS’s starting on Jan. 2.
Robinson said the county’s monthly customer rates of $26.70 will not increase under LRS.
“I’m looking forward to our relationship with LRS. They’ve been accommodating, bringing in new equipment and offering customer service. I’m happy with that,” Robinson said.
Foster said, “We have three years left on our (WM) contract. We will be soliciting bids then. Pricing but, more importantly, service to our residents and businesses will be considered.”
A LEGISLATIVE VIEW
In June, several Pine Bluff residents attended a Pine Bluff City Council meeting with a list of their own complaints.
Pine Bluff Mayor-elect Vivian Flowers, then District 65 state representative, attended that meeting and said she had already received several complaints about WM’s failure to deliver.
“I had gotten calls in my legislative capacity,” Flowers said.
However, she said she contacted WM’s Arkansas State Legislative liaison, and the problems were quickly “addressed.”
Flowers said she knew there were more issues, and some hadn’t been addressed.
Flowers also agreed with Foster that WM’s service in the Jefferson County area is only “adequate.”
Earlier this year, several Pine Bluff residents and business owners expressed their displeasure with the service they were getting from Waste Management. The Pine Bluff City Council approved a new contract with the company.