MOUNT VERNON — Residents’ complaints about being woken up at 2 a.m. by the banging of Dumpsters and trash compactors are among the top complaints Mount Vernon City Council members receive.
Brad Kochis moved from Hilliard to Mount Vernon in 2019 and has lived in a lot of municipalities in and out of state.
“Never in our life have we lived in a place where trash pickup was so chaotic,” he told council at its April 25 meeting. “I realize having one vendor makes it difficult. … Knowing what is coming with development, it will be hard to have something so chaotic.”
Noting his trash pickup has ranged from 2:30 a.m. to as late as 7 a.m., he said, “It’s difficult to understand how this can continue to happen without some sort of regulatory control.”
Kochis volunteered to help council find a solution.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Utilities Committee Chair Tammy Woods asked council members to relay the most frequently mentioned comments and concerns about trash hauling in the city. In addition to the 2 a.m. noise, comments include:
•The number of trucks going down each street
•Street damage from the trucks
•Trash not picked up
•Issues with recycling
•Want to retain ability to choose hauler
•Want to preserve small businesses
Betsy Scott of Mount Vernon Waste said she does not receive a lot of calls. The company starts collections at 5:30 a.m. and has two pick-ups and a small packer. If a customer is missed and calls in, she said the company picks up the trash the same day or the next day.
Rumpke handles the majority of residential trash pickup in the city. Rumpke’s Sarah Matthews acknowledged the concern about early start times, saying “it’s a sensitive subject for us.” She said trash hauling is the fifth most dangerous occupation, and the more times the drivers are out of the truck, the more dangerous it becomes.
“That is something that plays into our run time,” she said. “Being out when others aren’t makes it safer for us.”
Matthews pointed out that if collections started later, council members would receive complaints from drivers who were stuck behind a truck on their way to work or school.
Regarding whether Rumpke could use smaller trucks to avoid street damage stemming from heavy weight, Matthews said Rumpke’s trucks are average size. Going to a smaller truck means a reduced load and more trips to the transfer station.
More trips lead to longer collection times and higher pricing.
Likewise, at the suggestion of using more trucks in order to start later, Matthews said, “Any time you have restrictions, that will affect the cost to provide service.”
“There’s no program where you have zero problems,” she said.
Several council members noted constituents have asked whether the city has a noise ordinance that would address the early-morning banging and beeping when trucks turn around or back up. Current ordinances cover barking dogs and loud stereos, but not noise from trash collecting.
Council members agreed they were not to the point of going to a single-hauler program to resolve noise and other issues, but they did say they will consider a noise ordinance.
In another Utilities Committee meeting, Utilities Director Tom Marshall presented a proposed organizational structure for the utilities department. His emphasis is on cross-training the technicians so that they can cover multiple positions.
Marshall said the reorganization can be done with 36 FTEs (full-time equivalents). The department currently has 36.5 positions filled.
