At a council meeting Wednesday, East Bay Sanitation responds to issues regarding the company's performance.
By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published September 9, 2005
OLDSMAR - Loretta Wyandt has had enough of finding her empty garbage cans blocking her car. Now she makes a point to put the containers far from the driveway.
"I don't have the ordinance right in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the ordinance says you can't do that," said Wyandt, chairwoman of the city's ordinance review committee.
Wyandt, a former City Council member and president of the historical society, is one of many Oldsmar residents who have told city officials they are dissatisfied with East Bay Sanitation's service. About 25 residents a month call the city to complain of garbage strewn on the streets, trash cans thrown in driveways and inconsistent pickup times, said John Mulvihill, director of public works.
Sometimes the trash isn't picked up at all, residents say. Other times only some of what is put out on the curb is taken away.
The City Council asked East Bay Sanitation to respond to residents' concerns at a council meeting Wednesday night.
"What you could do to make the greatest improvement is to be consistent," City Manager Bruce Haddock said. "I think the best (grade) I could give you is a C or a C-."
John Clifford, a representative of the company, patiently listened to the council's concerns and promised to address the issues. Company executives did not return calls for further comment Thursday.
"We've expressed it generally in writing, informing them of the problems we've had," Mulvihill said. "They've been very good at responding to those complaints. The problem is they go back to doing the same things over again two months down the line, so they haven't learned."
The city has 5,500 residential customers and about 400 commercial customers, Mulvihill said.
The city switched to East Bay Sanitation Service 21/2 years ago after seven years with another company, BFI Waste Systems. Mulvihill said that during BFI's tenure, he only heard two complaints a month.
But when it came time to renew the contract, East Bay put in a bid for $1.2-million less over a five-year period than BFI. East Bay won the contract and is halfway into its five-year contract with the city.
"They saved money on it, but we didn't reap the benefits of it," Wyandt said. "The service is not what it should be, but I guess you get what you pay for."
