Bulk pickup abuse, proposed event ordinance, Renaissance Centre numbers and golf carts
The Town of Wake Forest is leasing eight new big-belly solar-fueled compactor trash cans, four of them dual units and four single, which will be placed in the South White Street downtown area and in one or more town parks.
The cans will help keep the downtown cleaner as the number of events and festivals increase, Public Works Director Mike Barton told the town board Tuesday night during its work session, and will also lessen the load of work by his employees and those in the parks and recreation department. Now public works employees have to empty 36 trash containers twice a week, and the parks and recreation department has to empty and maintain 70 containers.
The new containers will send out a radio signal when they are full and can advertise town events because flyers can be inserted into pockets on their sides.
Barton said the lease is $185 per month for the dual units, $105 for the single. “In the long run it’s a big savings.”
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People who are misusing and abusing the bulk pickup service the town provides through its contract with a Republic Services has become a major problem, Barton said Tuesday night. When the town first contracted with Republic in 2005, he said, crews would spend part of every Tuesday picking up bulk waste, which is items 75 pounds or more and any item that will not fit in the town-issued roll-out garbage cart. Now Republic crews spend three days a week picking up what people call bulk waste but looks like the homeowner just cleaned out the garage or house.
Barton asked the town board to give him the authority to do “something built in with a bite” such as the ability to put a lien on a house or bill the homeowner for those who do not follow the free bulk pickup guidelines. (A full description of bulk waste is at the end of this article.) He showed the town board pictures of heaps of refuse that homeowners had placed at the curb, asking for a pickup.
Pate said he often, as a realtor, drives through neighborhoods and sees piles of cardboard boxes which indicate someone is operating a business out of a house and uses bulk pickup rather than knocking down the boxes and putting them in the recycling cart. Barton said he has been cursed by people when he refuses to have some items picked up.
He said public works is sensitive when someone is moving into a house and ends up with several boxes and items to be thrown away. “We understand moving. We do have a moving-in service.”
But, he said, “We need something and a change in the ordinance so I can do something.”
The Town of Wake Forest provides free bulk waste pickup service on Tuesdays by appointment only. Defined in the town’s code of ordinances as “refuse weighing in excess of 75 pounds each,” bulk waste includes any item that does not fit in the town-issued roll-out garbage cart.
Examples of bulk waste pickup items include furniture, lawn mowers, swings, book shelves and bicycles.
Bulk waste must be scheduled for collection. Items placed at the curb without scheduling will not be collected. To schedule a bulk waste pickup, call 919-435-9570 before 2 p.m. Monday. Residents who call after hours may leave a voicemail message. Residents may also request a bulk pickup by emailing Betty Pearce at bpearce@wakeforestnc.gov.
Voicemail and email requests for service must include the resident’s name, physical address, and telephone number, along with a description of bulk waste items to be collected. Any service request that does not include the required information will not be processed.
After scheduling an appointment, residents are urged to adhere to the following bulk waste collection guidelines:
- Place bulk waste at the curb by 7 a.m. on your scheduled collection day.
- Place bulk waste within six feet of the curb and at least three feet away from other collection items and obstacles, such as mailboxes, phone poles, and vehicles.
- Do not place bulk waste inside the roll-out carts.
- Do not block the sidewalk.
Items that are not considered bulk waste include liquid paint, batteries, gasoline, oil, tires, and electronics, such as TVs, computers, printers, and copiers. Residents are urged to contact a private waste hauler or visit a local landfill to dispose of these items. For a complete list of Wake County convenience centers, visit wakegov.com and search “convenience centers.”
In addition, household hazardous materials, such as batteries, fire extinguishers, mercury thermometers, paint, pesticides and herbicides, and propane tanks, are not considered bulk waste. Wake County has established a collection program where residents can drop off these materials for proper disposal by a certified Household Hazardous Waste contractor. The drop-off location for northern Wake County is 9037 Deponie Drive, Raleigh. For more information about Wake County’s Household Hazardous Waste program, call 919-856-7400.
For more information about Town of Wake Forest bulk waste collection, call 919-435-9570 or visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “bulk waste.”
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Lisa Hayes, the downtown director, briefly explained the work she and other town staff are doing on a proposed events ordinance, saying she wants town board input on questions about fees, the application process, insurance, whether and how events with alcohol should be handled, how many times in a month or three-month period the same street can be closed for an event and other questions. She left them with a draft ordinance, saying it is a work in progress.
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Cathy Gouge, the director of the Renaissance Centre, said she is preparing a proposal to ask for funding from Wake County for capital needs at the center on Brooks Street. The county has $3.35 million available from the occupancy and food and beverage taxes to be used toward one-time projects. The maximum award is $1.5 million, and the county will only pay up to 35 percent of the project total. Wake Forest will commit to funding the remaining 65 percent over five years if the town is successful, Gouge said.
She also gave them the rosy attendance figures at the center: For calendar year 2014, its first year of operation, there were 3,500 visitors at events; 4,949 in 2015; and 7,193 from January through May this year.
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Captain Darren Abbacchi, head of field operations for the Wake Forest Police Department, gave the commissioners and mayor a stark opinion about legalizing golf carts on town streets – they are totally not roadworthy, not crashworthy, and are very unsafe for transporting children because there are no doors and no seatbelts.
“If we pass this and one person dies,” he said he would feel personally responsible. “If you can drive a golf cart, you can drive a car,” Abbacchi said. He pointed out the town has a lot of sidewalks. If the town allows golf carts there will be a lot of extra work for the police department with a safety checks and registration. “This is a very limited want.” One of the people asking for golf cart use was Kyle Snyder, a wounded veteran who has difficulty walking.
Lieutenant Trent Coleman said he has just moved to a gated community with private streets which does allow golf carts and he has two, one a souped-up model. “We have wrecks [in his community] all the time. People drive drunk all the time. That’s in a controlled environment.”
Coleman pointed out that, even if there is a town ordinance legalizing golf carts, people are going to break the rules in that ordinance just as the police department does for regular vehicles. “We wrote tickets all the time for speeding and seat belts.”
Abbacchi also said there are town streets which have high volumes of traffic and intersections such as Rogers Road and Marshall Farm Road where even in a regular vehicle it is difficult to see traffic on the crossing street. And golf carts because of their size and lack of headlights are difficult to see. He and Coleman noted that the police department use ATVs and golf carts to patrol town greenways and the drivers have to take a training course and pass it to be able to drive those.
However, Mayor Vivian Jones said that, because of a presentation by three men last month the town has inquired and received information from six towns about how they allow golf carts. “If we decide that we want to consider this, we can work with the police department and put together a draft ordinance and then bring it back here.”
After Abbacchi and Coleman spoke, Commissioners Jim Thompson, Anne Reeve and Margaret Stinnett said they did not want to consider an ordinance allowing golf carts, but Commissioner Greg Harrington said he wanted to check with Holly Springs about the incidence of accidents and other details before definitely ssaying no and Commissioner Brian Pate said, “It can’t hurt. I’d like to see a way [to do it].”
