Garbage collection woes aired

It may not be long before garbage trucks in the parish are equipped with cameras to determine who is and who isn’t getting their cans to the side of the road in a timely manner.

Also, there may already be a law on the books that addresses “junk yards” in the rural areas of Acadia Parish.

It had been months since police jurors and representatives of Progressive Waste, the parish solid waste collection contractor, discussed — sometimes heatedly — the topic of “missed pick-ups” in the parish.

That subject resurfaced Tuesday night as various members of the jury reported that constituents were again complaining and jurors were again eyeing the contract-approved fine of $250 per day, per customer if the can is not emptied within 24 hours of it being reported.

But Mike Dingler, representing the waste collector, countered that, in some cases, the pick-up wasn’t missed but, instead, the resident did not have the can at the side of the road when the truck passed.

“Sometimes there are whole cul-de-sacs or lanes that are reported missed and you know someone in there put their can out on time,” said Richard “Dickie” Latiolais, secretary-treasurer.

But Dingler persisted.

“How many people along that lane or in that cul-de-sac call? Did everyone call or did just one person call to say ‘they missed the whole street’?

Dingler also questioned the number of calls received.

“What constitutes ‘a lot’?” he asked. “We service 26,500 customers in the parish. Are you getting four or five calls? A hundred? Three hundred?

“Before you blame us, make sure the garbage was put out on time. We need verification.”

That’s when Juror A.J. “Jay” Credeur, not a member of the Solid Waste Committee but present for the meeting, suggested cameras on the trucks.

“Let’s look into amending the contract to force Progressive to put cameras on their trucks,” he said. “That way we’re both covered.”

Cost of the cameras was brought up by Juror Alton “Al” Stevenson, also not a member of the Solid Waste Committee.

The parish solid waste collection is paid for through a 1 cent sales tax dedicated for that purpose (with a portion of the surplus allowed to be used for road maintenance).

Progressive currently is paid $8.22 per household, per month, for its service.

The committee will recommend to the full jury Tuesday night (June 9) that the possibility of amending the solid waste contract to mandate cameras be looked into.

One man’s junk ...

For a number of months now, police jurors have been struggling with complaints from citizens concerning junk vehicles being deposited in neighboring yards.

During committee meetings Tuesday night, Brad Andrus, counsel for the jury, explained that the parish’s current ordinance prohibits the storage of abandoned vehicles “on vacant lots within recognized subdivisions.”

The problem is that the primary complaint is coming from a resident that is not in a “recognized subdivision.”

Andrus went on to explain that the state licenses and regulates all junk yards and that, if the subject of the complaints is within state law, there’s nothing the parish can do.

However, after perusing ordinances with assistance from Lee Hebert, director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Andrus returned to re-convene the Legislative Committee to discuss new findings.

According to Andrus, the jury can mandate that a “board fence” be erected around any area — anywhere in the parish — upon which abandoned vehicles and such are stored.

Andrus admitted that Tuesday night was the first time he had seen said ordinance and asked that he be authorized to “further investigate” the law before any action is taken regarding it.

The committee concurred.