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Garbage truck won't skip your house

Waste Management keeps its permit, and two other haulers will fill in.

By DAVID DeCAMP
Published December 20, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Waste Management is going to pick up trash next year, and two other haulers are poised to pick up the 17,000 customers the company will drop Jan. 1.

The County Commission on Tuesday approved renewing Waste Management's 2007 operating permit, just two weeks after freezing renewal and ripping the hauler's decision to cut service outside southwest Pasco.

Amid County Administrator John Gallagher's cajoling to find a solution last week, Waste Management agreed to sell its lists of affected customers to Waste Services of Florida and Central Carting Disposal, which will provide service to those customers.

"We think we've got everything worked out," said Rick Kania, Waste Management's regional director.

Despite their anger over the handling of the changes, the commissioners faced another pickle if they did not renew the permit. Waste Management still has 15,000 customers in southwest Pasco expecting service.

But Waste Management's late November announcement about dropping service roiled customers north of State Road 52 and customers east of the Suncoast Parkway. Customers worried neighborhood trash pickup would be turned into a mess next month.

To help residents line up service, Waste Management has agreed to send letters to affected customers this week informing them of their new hauler and service days. A hotline with a phone bank through Waste Management also will be set up in a few days to answer customers' questions.

Customers who do not want the newly assigned hauler can arrange service on their own with another company, although neighborhood associations often try to keep just one hauler for the entire community. Basic rates are set by the county.

A third company, Accurate Waste Systems, initially was part of the arrangement, but later chose not to buy the customer list.

After reviewing the list of affected customers, Accurate Waste sent some residents a letter offering service, company owner Steve Serafino said. He said Accurate has already picked up some customers and ordered additional hauling equipment.

Waste Management and county officials acknowledged there was a communication breakdown over the company's plans to curb service.

Kania said plans for service cuts were filed with the county before the Nov. 1 deadline to renew its permit. But county officials and the hauler began working on a transition plan after the late November letters went out - and public tempers rose.

David DeCamp covers Pasco County government. He can be reached at ddecamp@sptimes.com or 727 869-6232.

In other news Tuesday

The County Commission:

- Postponed sidewalk funding for Beacon Woods. The $100,000 from the county plus other money from Wal-Mart would pay for sidewalks, but Commissioner Jack Mariano wanted to see if other neighborhood improvements might be needed more. The Beacon Woods Civic Association's board agreed Monday to allow a left-turn only from Beacon Woods Drive into the planned supercenter - if the state Department of Transportation requires the additional access. The county-approved Wal-Mart plans had just two entrances, both on U.S. 19.

- Reserved the right to charge drainage fees. Under the resolution approved Tuesday, commissioners could raise up to $300-million next year for drainage improvements, although they have not yet decided how much to charge each property owner. Staffers are still working on an assessment strategy, engineering program manager Michele Baker said. Commissioners may hold a workshop in March. They must decide on an assessment by Sept. 15.

- Discussed economic incentives. Commissioners and County Administrator John Gallagher suggested increasing the amount of county money set aside for business incentives. The suggestion came in light of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute's decision to build a new facility with drugmaker Merck in Tampa instead of in the Wiregrass Ranch area in southeast Pasco.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 06:43:01]