People speak

The audience was nearly full Monday night for the rescheduled Pea Ridge City Council meeting.

"This is not a done deal; it may not be the right fit, it may not be the right thing," Mayor Jackie Crabtree said, referring to the proposed Solid Waste Contract that would have only one trash service in town.

Council members shared what they'd been told.

Lance Sanders said people had asked him how much it would cost, but said that isn't yet known.

Steve Guthrie said most of the people contacting him were saying they can take their trash to their place of business and don't need a trash service.

Ray Easley said he had heard concerns about the fees increasing for people outside the city limits, too.

Bob Cottingham said a lot of people did not like the idea of the trash bill being on the water bill.

City Clerk Sandy Button said the city's current ordinance sets a cap for the cost of trash service.

"Some of the people calling City Hall didn't get the correct information as it went out," Button said. "They liked the recycling. They liked the one bill. I explained that it wasn't a done deal."

Crabtree said: "Some people had issues with it being on the water bill.

"We had a property that had a lot of trash; we had to pick it up. All they done was pick it up and haul it over into Missouri and dump it. Well, that didn't solve the problem... someone hoarding the trash and causing unhealthy unsanitary conditions ... that's one of the issues of what we're looking at. You almost have to have some way of ... compliance."

Crabtree, who said he is the chairman of the Benton County Solid Waste Committee, said the recycle bins will stay.

"It's not going to go away," Button said.

"If I said it at last council, I misspoke," Crabtree said. "We still need that for citizens outside of city limits.

"What I intended to say, was that would reduce the need for that up there with having recycle options at curbside. That is the largest amount of recyclables collected in the county."

"At the curbside, I think would encourage more recycling," Button said.

"The way the ordinance is written now, there are three," Button said, referring to the number of sanitation companies that provide service in Pea Ridge. "That could be 10... we don't have a limit."

After hearing public comments, the mayor said: "This is something we do not have to do now. Thank you, we will work through all these issues ... we don't have to do this, it's something we're trying to figure out, to provide a service.

City residents may e-mail Mayor Jackie Crabtree with any comments or concerns at [email protected].