The issue of the poor state of garbage collection service in Carroll County followed some twists and turns last week, but after all was said and done, it appears that the county will be stuck with Republic Waste Management for at least the next three months and probably the next five years.
On Monday night, Feb. 7, the Carroll County Legislative Body met for a called meeting to respond to Republic’s offer to enter into a second 90-day emergency agreement with the county.
During that meeting, commissioners voted 12-7 against entering into 90-day extension with Republic after many commissioners said they were very unhappy with the service Republic has been providing over the past few months and expressed a desire to look into other alternatives as far as garbage collection services.
Voting against a contract extension with Republic were commissioners Manuel Crossno, Gerald Scarbrough, Willie Huffman, Joel Washburn, Randy Long, Darrell Ridgely, Jeremy Fowler, Ronnie Murphy, Lana Suite, John Mann, Lori Nolen, and Barry Mac Murphy.
Commissioners Jay Phipps, John Austin, Paula Watkins, Steve Parker, Larry Spencer, Hal Eason, and Vince Taylor voted for the extension.
Commissioners Johnny Blount and Jimmy McClure were not present.
During that meeting, some commissioners raised concerns regarding the original 90-day agreement with Republic that the county entered into back in October of last year. They were particularly concerned that the agreement would automatically roll over into a five-year contract and wondering whether or not there was anything the county could do about that.
Austin, who serves on the Solid Waste Committee, said that committee needs to meet with county attorneys to get some clarity on exactly where the county stands from a legal perspective.
And that was apparently what happened the very next day during a closed executive meeting between members of the Solid Waste Committee and county attorneys on Feb. 8.
When the committee convened for regular session immediately after the executive meeting, members voted unanimously to recommend that the full Legislative Body reverse the action taken during the Feb. 7 meeting and go ahead and enter into a 90-day contract extension with Republic. It was also recommended that County Mayor Joseph Butler call another emergency session of the Legislative Body to bring the matter back up.
Austin asked county attorneys what would happen if commissioners still voted against a contract extension with Republic, and attorney Robert Keeton III, who was there with his father, Robert Keeton II, said, “Then the contract still goes into effect.”
On Thursday night, Feb. 10, the Keetons met in a closed executive session with the full Legislative Body before another called meeting, while about 30 concerned citizens waited outside in front of the Civic Center for nearly an hour.
When the public was finally allowed in and the meeting was called to order, Keeton II thanked everyone for their patience and apologized that it took so long, but he did not comment on any of the matters that had been discussed during the executive session.
Butler did not comment on the issue either before calling for commissioners to vote on a motion to reverse the action they had taken on Feb. 7. Commissioners voted 14-5 in favor of that motion.
Commissioners then voted 14-5 to enter into a 90-day emergency contract extension with Republic for garbage collection services.
In both cases, commissioners Long, Ridgely, Murphy, Suite, and McClure voted against the motions, while the rest voted for it, except for commissioners Jeremy Fowler and Scarbrough, who were absent that night.
No opportunity was given for citizens to speak during Thursday night’s meeting, but some commissioners did take the time after the meeting adjourned to explain the situation to those concerned citizens, some of whom haven’t had their garbage picked up in months.
As some explained, that original 90-day emergency agreement with Republic contained clauses which basically bound the county into a five-year contract once that initial 90-day agreement expired, and a five-year contract will automatically kick in once the current 90-day extension expires.
Attempts were made to get comments from Butler on Friday and Monday, both by email and by phone, but he had not responded as of press time early Monday afternoon.
