Trash questions return to Fort Smith Board

Trash once again took center stage at the Fort Smith Board of Directors noon study session as directors and the Department of Sanitation sparred over regulations relating to commercial sanitation services for housing complexes comprising no more than four units per structure.

According to Director of Sanitation Baridi Nkokheli, 60 residential complexes or units are on commercial sanitation services in violation of a 1976 ordinance that requires said complexes to be on residential services.

That number has been reduced from a high last year of 120 violations. At that time, he said the department began enforcement efforts to bring properties into compliance by removing most dumpsters and other commercial collection methods in favor of residential collection containers.

At issue for the Department of Sanitation is having discretion in determining which properties should be exempted from the decades-old ordinance.

"We would like the discretion to determine if a property could use carts or remain with a commercial container," Nkokheli told Board members.

According to a memo from Nkokheli to the Board, the default collection method for residential buildings housing four or less units would be regular trash carts if the property met the following requirements:
• The property design should allow proper space to allow fluid ingress and egress of fully-automated solid waste collection vehicles;
• The property should be clear of substantial obstacles, which may hinder curbside collections by fully-automated solid waste collection vehicles;
• The property should have enough space to accommodate multiple carts at the curb;
• The property should have ample storage space for the carts; and
• Placing the carts curbside should not impede pedestrian walkways or motorists' line of sign view of oncoming traffic when entering or exiting the property.

"Consideration will also be given to concerns posed by the property owners with regards to the type of collection method selected," the memo read. "Exceptions will be considered for unique circumstances; however, commercial containers will be a rare exception."

In proposing a change to the ordinance which would allow the department to determine exceptions the standard residential trash collection methods, Nkokheli also brought before the board a rate change for "multiplex" customers of $12.36 per month for service, a 92 cent difference from what single family residential customers currently pay.

The difference, he said, was due to the lack of services likely to be used by multiplex customers versus single family customers.

But Vice Mayor Kevin Settle was opposed to any difference in price among residential customers.

"I'm not in favor of the rate change," he said. "I am opposed to it. I look at myself, my family, my parents, my grandmother who's single and lives in a house and I look around at where I live and some people utilize some services and some utilize none but they all pay the same. To me, I'd rather see a combined rate in the city of one rate. If we can lower some, let's lower everybody down and make everybody the same class."

He said he'd rather see everyone's rates go down than "two different classes."

Director Pam Weber was opposed to the fact that in many cases, residents of multiplex housing units were actually going to see their rates increase.

Nkokheli admitted as much, saying the typical rate would increase by almost $6 per month, though he said the services available for residential customers was more vast than those offered to commercial customers.

"You have to keep in mind that…you're getting the recycling, dial-a-truck, troubleshooter, you're getting access to the city-wide cleanup, you're getting access to storm debris removal, you're getting bulky item collection. All of these things are being provided to you at a residential collection rate. All of these things are not being provided to you at commercial,” Nkokheli explained.

The Board will vote on a change to the ordinance at its July 9 regular meeting, though the rate change was not included at the request of Settle, who made the motion for the ordinance to be placed on the agenda.