Landlords upset by a recent move by the Westbrook City Council to eliminate trash pickup at certain apartment buildings will have a chance to voice their opinions at a public workshop before the council on July 24.
At its July 3 meeting, the council tabled a vote to eliminate trash pickup at apartment buildings with four to nine units after landlords spoke out against the change and asked for more discussion before the council votes.
In response, the administration and the City Council will hold a public workshop following the council meeting on July 24. The workshop is slated to begin at around 8 p.m. in Room 114 at Westbrook High School, according to Mayor Bruce Chuluda.
“Prior to moving forward with any changes to this program, the mayor and City Council want to have an open discussion on the issue,” Chuluda wrote in a letter sent out to affected landlords this week. “Many concerns and suggestions have been raised since this proposal was first advanced, and we encourage attendance and participation in this workshop.”
City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the city chose a workshop format instead of a more formal council meeting to encourage informal discussion of ideas.
“At this point, we’re exploring options,” said Bryant. “The workshop setting is far more conducive to a dialogue, so that’s why we chose that format.”
With the proposal to eliminate pickup for certain apartments, the city was attempting to reduce its overall trash collection costs. It currently provides weekly trash pickup to almost 70 four-unit apartments and about 35 five-to-nine-unit apartments – a total of more than 550 units altogether.
By eliminating pickup to these apartments, the city is expecting to save more than $30,000. The change would take affect on Oct. 1, if approved by the council. The delay is to give landlords affected by the change time to coordinate private trash removal.
Many landlords at the July 3 meeting said they were being burdened with an extra expense by having to provide private trash pickup at their apartments. Some said they would have to pass it onto their tenants, some of whom might not be able to afford the increase in rent.
“Any little increase just drives them out, and they’re already struggling,” said Brackett Street apartment owner Klaus Schulz at the meeting.
Another concern the landlords had at the July 3 meeting was that they were notified of the Monday meeting the Friday beforehand, which many said didn’t give them enough time to look into private trash pickup options. Bryant said the letter was sent out the Thursday of that week to the approximately 120 landlords who would be affected by the change.
This time, the city is making sure to notify the landlords earlier, having sent out the letter yesterday. Bryant acknowledged the limited notice the last time was part of the problem for many landlords.
“Our desire is to get it out as soon as possible,” Bryant said.
At the July 3 meeting, Council President Brendan Rielly apologized to the landlords present for the short notice and said the short notice factored into the council tabling the item and meeting with the landlords before voting on any ordinance change.
Many landlords at the July 3 meeting spoke in favor of a pay-per-bag recycling program that requires residents to pay on a per-use basis.
“We can seriously end a lot of the debate in the community about what we’re picking up and where by enacting a curbside recycling program,” said City Councilor John O’Hara, who supports a pay-per-bag solution. “It’s time to belly up to the bar, ladies and gentlemen, and make a decision.”
O’Hara said he hopes to be a calming voice at the July 24 workshop for the landlords potentially affected by the change in trash pickup. He said he views any ordinance change as short-lived because the city will be addressing a recycling program next spring after it sees what, if any, changes Regional Waste Systems enacts in its services. He added he might choose to vote against the change to the ordinance should it come up again before the council as-is.
Bryant said he hopes to have the item back before the council for a vote at its Aug. 7 meeting, depending on how well the workshop goes. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in room 114 at Westbrook High School and will be open to the public.
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