Talkin' Trash
In order to keep you, my Afftonians, in the know, I'm posting about this important forum.
Clipped and edited from the Suburban Journal:
St. Louis County will have a public forum Monday in the auditorium of Affton High School, 8309 Mackenzie Road. on its trash district plan at 7 p.m. County officials will give a presentation on their proposal to divide the unincorporated area into eight to 10 waste-hauling districts and assign one trash hauler to each district.
This plan has been very controversial...and surprisingly so to your Mayor. The last forum on this brought out about 300 pissed off folks, most of whom were irked at the number of different trash trucks going down their streets.
My position is that this plan will save you money...end of story. By consolidating the trash hauling, your bill will decrease. Now, my people, many are the complaints of our senior residents who have difficulty keeping their living costs low. As a result, they vote down my chance at a community pool, vote down tax increases for schools and anything else that might make Affton an attractive place to raise a young family. This is also a bit of an eco-friendly choice as fewer trucks will be driving duplicate routes.
Now these seniors have a chance to get a reduction on a bill and it appears many REFUSE IT claiming that they don't want to lose their ability to hire and fire their trash hauler. Seriously, when's the last time you had a real problem with the trash guy? How many times in the last 5 years have you actually FIRED your trash service? I think the opposition to this measure is not based in a "solid waste" of brain cells.
Either way, go to the forum and get heard.
posted by Mayor of Affton @ 11:56 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Thank you, Mr. Mayor for your comments. I'm all in favor of the trash district plan for the following reasons:
1. Lower costs
2. Oversight/regulation and cost containment
3. Reduced wear and tear on our old streets
4. Less pollution and oil consumption
5. The ability to recycle
Unfortunately many of our senior citizens are against this plaln because they think it's some sort of socialist plot. Can everyone under 70 please go and make your voice heard?
"Solid Waste".... I love a good pun.
What about the community pool, lets go back and bring that up again. I'm all for the trash
proposal, except when there is some competition, and the ability to change our providers, they will bend over backwards to pick up larger loads, or come back if they missed your cans. Now we will be stuck with cans in the street, and bundles left if they are a little bit too long.
Unfortunately I guess I missed the forum (I only discovered this blog yesterday). I hope a bunch of people with some sense showed up and called for consolidation.
One Monday a month or so for the past two years my wife has had to listen to me rant about the ridiculous number of trash trucks chasing each other around through the Indian Hills and Gravois Gardens subdivisions where we walk every day.
Of the 500+ people at the meeting (yes, I counted) most were opposed citing "our God-given right as Americans to choose" ... what?! To choose your trash guy? Sorry, that's not really a right, especially when the public good overwhelmingly benefits from less wear and tear on our streets, lower prices, and bulk item pick up and recycling for all (amen!). *ahem* Yes, well, in addition to that, the people were outright rude and obnoxious and I was embarrassed to be an Afftonian that night.
You have to wonder if our fellow Afftonians' fear of a Communist State will ever be alleviated. I kinda figure they won't give up on this trash pickup thing until they simply cannot drive down the street because every single household has contracted a different trash hauler.
-joe
Very sad. I could not make the meeting because I run a business and am under the age of 70. This fear of communism in Affton has to stop or I'm gonna paint red and yellow sickles on all of the houses (j/k)! Affton really needs a recycling program, most other areas have them and we are out of touch!
I am so sorry I didn't know about the community meetings when they were being held - until it was TOO LATE!
I am way under the age of 70, a female Affton resident who does NOT appreciate the consolidation plan that was put into place without a VOTE!
I have, in fact, FIRED two trash haulers in the past three years, one for extremely poor service and higher than normal prices. The other was for very poor service and ZERO customer service.
For over a year, I've been with American Eagle and have never been happier. It's ridiculous to have to spend time being irritated about something that plays such a small part of our daily lives (but is essential to it). And I am NOT HAPPY about being told with whom I need to do business. I WANT AMERICAN EAGLE!!!!! They have proven themselves over and again and have EARNED my business. Allied has only been AWARDED my business with no input from me as a FORCIBLY paying customer.
If you really want to do something about the traffic in our neighborhoods, it would be MUCH MORE appreciated if you would do something to control the amount of speeding cars racing through our house lined streets at all hours of the day and night where children play and people walk.
How about doing something about THAT instead of TELLING us who we have to give our business to when it comes to (supposedly) private enterprise.
NOT HAPPY IN AFFTON
Post a Comment
<< Home