By Dan Shriner
Review Editor
Orion Township residents packed the board room Monday night to overwhelmingly tell township officials that they like their trash haulers and are not interested in having one company responsible for all trash collection.
However, the board voted, 4-3, to accept the first reading of a new ordinance that could lead to having a single waste hauler by the spring of 2015. But all township board officials said that the proposed ordinance still needed quite a bit of work and modifications before they felt it could move forward and be passed.
Several board member said ‘the devil is in the details? when talking about all of the nuances and requirements that would need to be considered in a single waste hauling ordinance. Those details could include things such as whether there would be opt-out clauses for senior citizens or those who spent winters outside of the region.
They also said that concerns that were raised by residents on Monday night as well as board members? concerns could be covered in a Request for Proposal (RFP) that the township would develop before it went out to waste haulers to seek their bids.
The next time the board can consider moving the single waste hauler ordinance forward and receiving more public input will be at its first meeting in January, tentatively scheduled for January 5. It is expected that several amendments will be added at that time to make the ordinance more acceptable.
For many of the residents at the meeting, it did not seem that any ordinance that didn’t allow for choice in selecting a waste hauler would be acceptable.
After the 4-3 vote to move ahead, trustee Neil Porter attempted to get a motion passed to put the issue to a vote of the residents at the 2016 presidential election, nearly two years away. That motion failed by the same, 4-3 vote. If that motion has passed, it would have postponed any efforts to get a single waste hauler until at least 2017. Porter initially sought to have the referendum placed on the ballot in an election in 2015 but Clerk Penny Shults said no elections are scheduled in 2015.
Supervisor Chris Barnett, Shults, Treasurer Mark Thurber and trustee Donni Steele voted in favor of moving the ordinance forward. Trustees John Steimel, Porter and Mike flood voted against it. The same 4-3 vote also killed Porter’s attempt to get the issue to a referendum in 2016.
Prior to listening to residents? comments ? some of them angry ? Barnett said there were four reasons why he believed a single waste hauler would be the right thing for the township.
The comments from residents after he gave his reasons lasted nearly three hours.
Barnett said the most frustrating thing that he has heard from residents in the two years he has been in office is the issue of too many garbage trucks being on local roads. He said that the feedback he has received from residents who have spoken with him and sent him messages has been about 80 percent in favor of having a single waste hauler.
He said his number one concern was safety and that he has received complaints about the unsafe conditions with so many waste collection trucks on the road during the winter and children walking to and from school. There are 92 trucks from several private waste haulers licensed in Orion Township.
He also said that a high number of waste hauling trucks contribute to the deterioration of residential roads, which seldom are paved.
His third reason, he said, was that having a single waste hauler would allow for increased recycling since not all of the current waste haulers provide recycling pickup.
He said one neighboring township that went with single hauling services saw an increase of about 30,000 tons of recycled material within one year.
Barnett’s final reason for supporting a single waste hauler would be a reduction in cost to everyone. He said the reductions have been seen in neighboring communities that now use single waste hauler. He pointed to Rochester Hills, which recently secured a new contract with its waste hauler and saw a 12 percent reduction in rates. He said the village of Lake Orion also uses a single waste hauler and received a five percent reduction in a new contract renewal.
Barnett stressed that the decision to go to a single waste hauler ‘isn’t a done deal? and added that township officials are continually trying to listen to everyone and will likely make modifications to a proposal either through the ordinance process or through an RFP that might go out to seek bids from the waste companies.
Trustees Steimel and Porter said they strongly opposed a single waste hauler ordinance as it appeared before the board.
‘I can’t convince myself this is the way to go,? Steimel said.
‘I agree with the goal but how we are doing this is way off base,? Porter said. ‘I’m dead against it now.?
Steimel, Porter and Barnett all used the term, ‘the devil is in the details? when talking about how any proposed ordinance or RFP would have to address concerns of some residents and board members before it would move forward.
The single waste hauling proposal would apply only to single family homes and would not apply to businesses, mobile home parks, apartment or condominium complexes. It was suggested by township officials and others that a second ordinance would be necessary to cover those residences, where an estimated 22 percent of township residents reside.
There are an estimated 13,000 single family homes in Orion Township that would be affected by a single waste hauling ordinance.
Many of the residents who spoke against the single waste hauler proposal said they did not believe the government should dictate who they could have to pick up their trash. Others cited how it would hurt small businesses and employees and their families if those companies went out of business. Some said that they thought rates would rise because of the lack of competition.
‘If you like your current waste hauler, you should be able to keep your current waste hauler,? said one woman. Her comments were repeated and echoed by others, who frequently applauded comments by those opposing a single waste hauler.
About 80 residents attended the meeting and only a couple said they were in favor of a single waste hauler ordinance. One of those, Don Goss, who said he represented the Canterbury Woods Homeowners Association said residents there wanted a single waste hauler for safety and reduction of trucks in the community.
Others said they resented the intrusion of government into their lives and dictating who they could have as a waste hauler.
‘I don’t want any more government in my life,? said one woman, to a round of applause.
Representatives from two waste hauling companies, Odd Job Disposal and Griffin Disposal, said a single waste hauler ordinance could seriously hurt their businesses and would lead to the firings of some employees.
Odd Job representative Jessica Christensen said she would lose employees if a single waste hauling ordinance was passed and they did not win the bid.
The Oxford-based company has more business than any other service in the township. She said they have about 4,000 residences in Orion Township. The company was praised by many who spoke at the meeting.
Jason Griffin, of Griffin Disposal, said the single waste hauler is ‘anti-small business? and would hurt local business and its employees.
Griffin suggested putting the issue to a vote of the people.
One resident, Michael Hopper, summed up the tension and vocal opposition to the single waste hauler proposal.
‘It’s amazing how many people are passionate about trash removal,? he said.