Twice-a-week collection to take place beginning in May
By:David Koch
MANSFIELD Beginning May 15, township residents will have twice-a-week garbage collection for a four-month period.
In two last-minute motions, new Township Committeeman Arthur Puglia changed what was supposed to be an uneventful Dec. 26 meeting. One motion was a resolution for twice-a-week trash pickup between May 15 and Sept. 15, which passed by a vote of 3-2.
The other motion was a resolution to have a voter referendum on any township building designed for public use that costs $250,000 or more. The second motion failed by a vote of 2-2, with Mayor Dalpat Patel abstaining.
Committeemen Kelly Shea and Ron Carty voted against both motions.
Neither resolution was on the meeting’s agenda. Mr. Puglia made the motions after residents stated during public comment that they would rather see the township spend taxpayers’ money on twice-a-week garbage collection instead of a new recreation building and community center proposed for the Mansfield Township Community Park on East Main Street in Columbus.
Committeewoman Molly Kaklamanis made a second to both motions during the meeting.
"Since I’ve been involved, this is an issue that keeps coming up, and I think the only way to get rid of it is to solve it," said Ms. Kaklamanis, referring to garbage collection.
Mr. Carty said during the meeting that twice-a-week trash pickup will cause the township’s general purpose tax to increase by 35 percent. The current tax rate is 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
"I believe this is more of a health issue than a financial issue," said Homestead resident Rahn Beson during the meeting.
After the meeting, Mr. Beson said, "We have to keep our garbage in the house, and in the summer it creates a little bit of an odor."
The township used to offer twice-a-week trash pickup, but two years ago it switched to a once-a-week schedule. The decision was made by the Township Committee after Mr. Carty and Township Superintendent Jeff Jones studied the cost effectiveness of once-a-week pickup.
"If we did once a week, we figured out it would save the township up to $100,000 a year," said Mr. Carty in a phone interview.
Mansfield currently has a three-man crew that collects trash four days a week, covering a quarter of the town each day. Mr. Carty said township officials expect trash collection will need to be done five days a week to cover the entire town due to the influx of new residents.
Mr. Carty also said that twice-a-week trash pickup will cost the township money in extra manpower, the purchase of a new trash truck and maintenance.
"Once, they get a few hours on them, they need quite a bit of upkeep," said Mr. Carty.
Mr. Carty said he estimates that twice-a-week trash pickup would now cost the township $120,000 for a single year, but was unsure how much it would cost for the four months proposed in the resolution.
Patrick DeLorenzo, a resident of the Mapleton development on Route 68, said the increase in taxes would be nominal at best, and that extra money could be found in the budget to offset costs.
"The only cost is maintenance on the truck, fuel and labor," said Mr. Puglia after the meeting. "You got the employees here already. Why not work them?"
"We’re ecstatic," said Mr. DeLorenzo after the meeting. "This is a victory for all the taxpayers."
Mr. DeLorenzo ran as a Republican in November’s election for Township Committee supporting twice-a-week trash collection. He lost to Independent candidate Raymond Stupienski.
Mr. Puglia’s second motion for a voter referendum on public buildings did not pass, however.
Mr. Puglia said during the meeting that he selected the $250,000 figure because it was the average cost of a new home in the township.
The motion was made in response to some residents’ concerns over the cost for a proposed recreational building and community center in the Community Park.
Mr. Carty said during the meeting that Mapleton, Four Seasons, and Homestead developments have their own community centers.
"What do the original township residents have here in Mansfield?" said Mr. Carty.
A public hearing about the combined building proposal was held at the Nov. 28 Township Committee meeting. During that hearing, officials said there is currently $375,000 available for the construction of the proposed facility from various trust funds and state grants.
At the Dec. 26 committee meeting, Mr. Patel said he abstained from voting on the resolution because of money already available to the township for the recreation building and community center.
"I think this is a rather unusual Dec. 26 act," said Committeeman Shea during the meeting referring to the two last-minute motions. "It is a little out-of-place, but I think it is a taste of things to come."
Mr. Puglia was nominated to the Township Committee by the Mansfield Democratic Committee on Dec. 19, after Committeeman Ernest Dubay resigned in November.
Mr. Puglia was elected to finish out Mr. Dubay’s term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2002.
Mr. Puglia has served on the Township Committee in previous years, but Dec. 26 was his first meeting as Mr. Dubay’s replacement.