Metro Roundup: Mountain Brook council suspends curbside recycling
The Mountain Brook City Council on Monday voted to suspend curbside residential recycling for an undetermined period of time, effective immediately.
The move stems from the problems that residents have experienced the last several months in having their garbage picked up on time by Waste Management, the vendor that has provided garbage, trash and recycling services to the city since 1995.
The company is two weeks behind on garbage collection, Council President Virginia Smith said.
“If we remove the recycling for a period of time, they can use that truck for garbage pickup,” Smith said.
If and when Waste Management is able to resume a normal schedule and complete all four daily weekday routes, recycling may be resumed, City Manager Sam Gaston said in a letter to residents on Sept. 14
In another letter to residents on Aug. 20, Gaston said that Waste Management — except for “an occasional hiccup” – has provided generally good service to Mountain Brook until the last few months.
He listed numerous reasons why Waste Management has fallen behind.
- Many workers have been absent due to cases of COVID-19.
- Like other businesses, Waste Management is having “a challenging time” in finding and keeping workers.
- Some of the drivers and supervisors who have worked in Mountain Brook for years have retired or been transferred.
- Waste Management acquired another waste company in October 2020 and has been reorganizing its staff due to this purchase.
- The company is also experiencing a large number of equipment breakdowns.
Several other cities in the area that contract with Waste Management are facing similar problems with the vendor, Gaston said.
In addition to suspending curbside recycling, the city and Waste Management are taking other steps to get caught up, Gaston said in his Sept. 14 letter.
For example, the city has rented a garbage truck, and Public Works crews are assisting Waste Management in picking up trash and recycling.
BZA APPOINTMENTS
The council also on Monday appointed two new members to the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustments.
Current member Chris Mitchell’s term expires Sept. 25, and he is retiring from the board, said Dana Hazen, the city’s director of planning, building and sustainability.
The council voted to make Noel Dowling — currently a supernumerary member of the BZA — a full voting member.
Three applicants expressed interest in Mitchell’s seat and submitted resumes to the board.
The current members recommended that Oliver Willams became the new supernumerary member.
A Mountain Brook resident, Williams has worked for Regions Bank in Birmingham since 2012. Since 2018, he has served as executive vice president for enterprise risk management.
Williams earned a master’s degree in accounting at the University of Mississippi in 2007 and serves on the Risk Management and Insurance Advisory Board at the Brock School of Business at Samford University.
CLASTRAN FUNDING
Members also voted to approve $1,000 in funding for fiscal 2022 for ClasTran, a project of the Birmingham Regional Paratransit Consortium that provides curb-to-curb demand-response transportation services for the elderly, disabled and others.
ClasTran assists riders, their families and their caretakers, according to a letter submitted to the council by Shari Spencer, ClasTran executive director.
ClasTran provides transportation to dialysis and medical appointments, adult day care facilities and other essential destinations such as food shopping and other basic needs, Spencer said.