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August 9, l990
Hagerstown, Maryland 2l740
A Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County was
called to order at l0:00 a.m. by the President, Ronald L. Bowers, with the
following members present: Vice President Linda C. Irvin and Commissioners Richard
E. Roulette and John S. Shank.
Other elected officials present at the Meeting were Maryland Senator Patricia
Cushwa and House of Delegates members Peter Callas, Donald Munson and Bruce Poole;
Hagerstown Mayor Steven Sager and Councilmembers William Breichner, John Schnebly,
John Donoughue, Susan Wicklein and Robert Smith. Robert Creter, representing the
Maryland Department of the Environment, was also in attendance.
HOURS OF OPERATION - COUNTY LANDFILL
Commissioner Bowers stated that this meeting has been called to try and resolve the
problems associated with the State's decision to prohibit the practice of bringing
refuse to the County's sanitary landfill before the 7:00 a.m. start of operations.
This has been the practice of the City of Hagerstown and bids for their trash
collection service doubled with the stipulation that pick-up be done during the
daytime hours.
Mayor Sager stated that the City wishes to continue municipal refuse disposal at
night at the Landfill. He stated that in bids recently opened, the low bid for
trash collection service was an additional $75,000 for the first year if the hauler
must collect during the daytime. Mayor Sager said that BFI, who submitted the low
bid, felt that daytime pickup takes more time and would use more trucks. Mayor
Sager also stated that there are several practical matters, such as safety, traffic
congestion and inconvenience, that make night-time trash collection more
desirable. He stated that the current practice is to pick up trash starting at
ll:00 p.m. and the first trip to the landfill would be approximately 2:00 or 3:00
a.m. and another at 5:00-6:00 a.m.
Robert Creter, representing the Maryland Department of the Environment, stated that
the City of Hagerstown would have to formally request the County to amend their
Ten-Year Solid Waste Plan and, if the County decided that this is acceptable, they
would have to hold a public hearing. The County would then forward this request to
the State for inclusion as a revision to the Ten-Year Solid Waste Plan and would
also have to amend the Operations Manual to include such items as lighting,
additional personnel necessary for the earlier hours and any additional machinery
necessary.
Commissioner Bowers asked if the City would be willing to participate financially
in making any necessary provisions mandated by the State for earlier opening
hours. Mayor Sager stated they would be willing to negotiate with the County and
they are exploring alternatives and bidding this again with several options in the
hope of lowering the cost. Mayor Sager also stated that BFI gave no justification
for the 59% increase in the base operating costs. The Commissioners also
reiterated that recycling would lower their costs by reducing the volume of refuse
going to the landfill and they will need the City's help to meet the goal of 50%
reduction in the waste stream. Barry Teach, Administrator, also noted that several
drop-off centers will be established in the next few weeks for collection of
recyclables.
The Commissioners asked that Mr. Teach and City officials, along with Mr. Creter of
the Department of the Environment, meet to determine the optimal hours for opening
the landfill, what the minimum staffing level would be, coverage necessary, and the
costs involved with this, in order to amend the Operations Manual for public
hearing and submittal to the State.
The County's Delegation to the General Assembly also agreed to schedule a meeting
to discuss this matter. Senator Cushwa stated that she would check with the task
force recently appointed to look into "price gouging" under the Procurement Laws.
ADJOURNMENT
The Meeting was adjourned at ll:25 a.m.
County Attorney
, Clerk