Today's Feature

Disposal Contract Changes Proposed.

The Public Works committee discussed possible waste disposal contract changes with Allied Waste representative Jennifer Fagan on Tuesday afternoon. Fagan was present at the committee meeting to renegotiate the contract which isn’t due to expire until 2009.

Proposed changes include; the elimination of the citywide cleanup in exchange for the pickup of one large household item per week, the elimination of yard waste pickup, combining the two currently offered residential services to one package for $8.00 per month, and condensing commercial hand-pick services from five categories to one with an increase to commercial rates in the amount of 14%.

The committee discussed at some length each of these items. The changes were requested by Allied Waste primarily due to fuel cost increases. The committee focused mainly on the cost increases to residential pickup and requested that a senior rate be added in the amount of $6.50. Fagan said she felt the company would have no problem with this addition.

Committee member Claude Newport asked if the City was obligated to renegotiate the contract. Fagan said the City was not obligated, but added that the changes were proposed so that the company would not lose money. Fagan added that eight other cities using Allied Waste for disposal services had approved similar changes so far.

Committee chair Tom Flanigan asked if the $8.00 price would be negotiable. Fagan replied that according to 20 pages worth of calculations $8 was the lowest cost for company to not lose money. Fagan added that the cost would still be lower than most cities.

"This is going to be a big one to sell to the citizens of Carthage," said Flanigan of the increase.

Committee member Bill Johnson questioned the increases and requested information about increases in other cities. Johnson said that he felt the increase would hurt the citizens of Carthage.

"This will hit the people that don’t have a lot of surplus funds," said Johnson.

The committee took no action on the proposal. Flanigan said that further research would be required, and requested a special meeting to discuss the proposal further.

"There is a lot to consider," said Flanigan.

The committee directed Tom Short to get information from Carthage Water and Electric Plant concerning the number of commercial contracts and different plans currently in use in the City.

Allied Waste has asked that the proposed changes take place on October 1, when scheduled annual increases would normally take effect under the current contract. The committee expressed concerns about the amount of work that would need to be done between now and then to make that possible. It was agreed that November would be a more plausible time frame to initiate any changes that are made to the contract. Billing for the collection service is handled through Carthage Water and Electric Plant and changes would need to be made in that system as well as time needed for discussion and hearings for the amendment.

Under the current contract there are two categories for residential pickup: Single person which costs $4.13 and Family pickup which costs $6.52. There are 12 listed prices for commercial pickup whose prices range from $7.21 to $86.52.

In addition to fuel cost increases, reasons for the proposed changes include; Yard waste not being accepted in Missouri landfills, difficulty monitoring whether single rate is used for one person, difficulty enforcing policies for commercial pickup, increased landfill costs, and increased costs for truck repair and metal.

Carthage, reportedly, has the lowest pricing in the area. If the proposed changes are approved, Fagan says that Carthage’s rate would still be lower than most cities.

The special meeting to further discuss changes is scheduled for Thursday, September 14th at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall.

Dog Park Evaluation Continues.

The Public Services Committee met Tuesday evening. The committee discussed briefly the citizen initiated proposal for a dog park in the City. The park would allow dog owners to let their dogs run without leashes in a fenced area for exercise purposes.

At the previous meeting citizens made a formal request for use of any City property as a dog park. The group of citizens said they would be willing to seek grant funding for fences and equipment for the park and make sure that the area is clean. The citizens also requested water access. At that meeting the committee requested that the group start a petition process to gather information about public interest.

At Tuesday’s meeting Parks Director Alan Bull brought information from the parks department at Lee’s Summit, which has a functional dog park on City property. Bull said that Lee’s Summit parks department funds the project and provides maintenance.

According to the parks director at Lee’s Summit the city does not have any special insurance to cover dog fights or dogs biting people. Committee member Dan Rife said he was concerned about City liability in a dog park and would still like to see more information about it.

Bull added that there is no separation between large and small dogs at the Lee’s Summit facility.

City Administrator Tom Short expressed concerns about grant competition between this project and the proposed skate park, which is also seeking grant funding.

Committee member Bill Welch said he felt the project cost would be low, as fencing is all that would be required. Short replied that privacy fencing might be required, adding that it could incur much greater cost than chain-link fencing.

The citizens who requested the park were not in attendance of the meeting. Committee chair Claude Newport asked Welch to encourage the citizens to return. The committee took no action on the park.

Stench Report:

Wednesday,
9/6/06

No Stench Detected on Carthage Square

There’s gotta be fifty different kinds of bagged dirt available at the store. Rocks are the same way, white ones, red ones, river gravel. There’s almost too many choices.

But the ultimate thing that I just can’t hardly believe is that people pay good money for busted up cow chips.

I think if you’re gonna buy that stuff, ‘stead of goin’ out and gatherin’ it yourself, you should buy the "original" form. That way you know you’re gettin’ the real stuff without any unnecessary additives. No tellin’ what those repackagers are puttin’ in with hones manure. I’d take the time to check it out, and be sure you’re readin’ the label before ya buy.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Dear Tom and Ray:

A recent Car Talk column about downshifting left me with another questions. You said that when going down a long, steep hill, you should shift your automatic transmission into a lower gear, like third, second or first. But here’s my question. Whenever I shift my automatic transmission, like from park to drive, or drive to reverse, it’s always with the car stopped and my foot on the brake. Do I have to stop the car and put my foot on the brake before shifting down to third, second or first on a steep hill? - Kathy

TOM: No. The car only needs to be stopped if you’re changing directions or shifting into or out of park. But you can shift between forward gears while driving.

RAY: Just to remind everybody, we said that when you’re descending a long, steep hill, you want to avoid "riding" your brakes all the way down because they can overheat and fail. True, that’s the quick way down the mountain, but it’s not the way you want to go. Trust me.

TOM: The best way to avoid riding the brakes is to shift to a lower gear and let the engine do some of the braking.

RAY: So here’s the routine. If you find yourself going down a long, steep hill, and you notice that you’re constantly on the brakes, move the shifter down one gear. You should feel what we call "engine braking," and the car should slow down.

TOM: If you find that you still need to ride the brakes to keep the car at a reasonable speed, shift down another gear. And if you need to, shift down again, all the way to first gear.

RAY: Once you’re in a gear that keeps the car’s speed under control, you can use the gas pedal to speed up between turns, and then just take your foot off the gas pedal to help slow down again.