Mayor Sanders avoids trash-vote veto discussion

Will Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders veto board action approving the solicitation of bids from third-party refuse collection providers at the Tuesday night (June 19) meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors?

While Sanders refused to answer several hypothetical questions about a possible outcome, he did hope for the board to exercise caution in moving forward. It would take a 5-2 vote to override a veto.

“I would kind of hope that the board would defer to see if the petition is going to make it to the ballot. It might be a good idea to wait and see if it does,” Sanders said, adding that “frequency of service and customer satisfaction” of any approved third-party hauler would be major factors for determining any action he may take.

The petition Sanders refers to was initiated by Fort Smith citizen Joel Culberson, who as of Monday was still awaiting legal review for the ballot initiative, which would convert the entire city to automated collection.

The petition was in response to a 4-3 vote by the board on June 5 to end automated collection conversions in the last 20 Fort Smith neighborhoods on the non-automated system. Culberson must attain 2,822 valid signatures by Aug. 8 to qualify the ballot initiative for voter approval.

The resolution to end the conversions was made by City Director Steve Tyler — a reversal from November 2009 when the Ward 1 Director motioned that the city end its contract with Altes Sanitation and convert to citywide solid waste collection of an automated nature.

Tyler told The City Wire on Monday that he "voted for Fort Smith Sanitation to take over the Fianna Hills area (three years ago) because Fianna Hills was a perfect situation for automated and would expand the pickup and equalize the service.”

Tyler's original motion won 5-2 support, ending the contract with Altes and initiating the citywide automated collection program on July 11, 2010.

Two weeks ago, City Directors, including Tyler, George Catsavis, Pam Weber, and Philip Merry, voted to end that program before it could be completed citywide. On June 14, Tyler submitted a new resolution to solicit third-party bids.

So far, the only interested party is Altes, a company that was considering litigation against the city when the city voted not to renew their contract.

During a June 5 citizens forum, an Altes representative promised “same or cheaper rates” than the Fort Smith Department of Sanitation, and said the company would be willing to “lock in rates for three to five years” to non-automated areas.

Tyler noted that any potential third-party hauler would have to be “at least equal to Fort Smith Sanitation” in the price and level of service.

“I don’t think there’s any question Fort Smith Sanitation performs a very adequate service. The question is, ‘Do they perform their services at the lowest cost, particularly when it comes to the alleyways?’”

Tyler added: “I have concerns that they (whoever is approved) would provide the same level of service that the city provides. They would have to assure us they would do yard waste, recycling, and trash in the alleys.”

Tyler believes the resolution “is going to be for a review, the way it stands right now. All we’re asking is that it be put out to bid. When it comes back, we would then decide on whether to accept the lowest bid or stay with Fort Smith Sanitation.”

Tyler continued: “For me, the lowest bid is not automatic.”

Asked if there were any concerns about doing business with Altes, given past tensions, Tyler admitted he had “heard of some issues, but I also know 70% of the citizens were fine with Altes from the survey.”

Speaking directly to any potential concerns, Tyler stated, “I know Altes’ equipment is older. I know their employees are probably not paid at the same level as (Fort Smith) Sanitation employees, I wouldn’t expect. But I really don’t have an issue (with them).”