(Photos: Beth Emery)Alarmed by the piles of bulky waste accumulating in neighborhoods close to downtown, Mayor Sebastian Giuliano has ordered that waste be collected by the Public Works department and that the department request $30,000 in emergency funding to reinstate bulky waste pickup in those neighborhoods.
In an austerity measure, on July 1, the Common Council did away with the free pick-up of bulky waste in the downtown "sanitation district" where residents were entitled to three pick-ups annually. Almost immediately, bulky waste such as furniture, mattresses, appliances and house fixtures began to line the curbs of downtown neighborhoods.
Complaints flooded the public works department, and several residents addressed the complaints to the Common Council at September's meeting. At that time the Council requested a report on the situation at the October Council meeting from Public Works Director William Russo.
"I think some of it can be attributed to habit," Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said Friday. "People were used to getting their bulky waste hauled away. And some are still not aware that a new system is in place."
The new arrangement calls for a fee of $75 for bulky waste removal.
After an inspection of downtown neighborhoods, and consultation with city Health Director Dr. Joseph Havlicek, Giuliano decided to act and requested that the public works department remove what had already accumulated on the streets.
"Our phone has been ringing off the hook," Russo said. "I truly believe that reinstating bulky waste pickup will help get some unsafe areas cleaned up."
"We had to get it picked up," Giuliano insisted. "Or by Christmas we'd be knee-deep in trash."
Most of the streets are now free of trash.
"I have the legal department checking on our new code enforcement ordinance to allow us to do what New Britain has begun to do in a program they call 'clean and lien.' The city will clean up a blighted area, and then go after the property owner for compensation. In the past we've been able to cite a landlord, but that didn't necessarily make the pile of trash disappear," Giuliano said.
Giuliano explained that the pay-for-service approach is necessary because of increasing fees the city has to pay for disposal of bulky waste. But he admits that the sudden impact of the ordinance change could be seen along every street downtown.
"Following our recent tour we have to be willing to see the actual situation and adjust accordingly," Giuliano said.
Giuliano emphasized that most residents and landlords are abiding by the law, or mistakenly leaving bulky waste on the curb.
"But I have a gut instinct that there are some property owners who do not like the new fee, and are attempting to force the issue," he said.
Giuliano is urging concerned residents to attend the October 5 Common Council meeting where the issue of bulky waste will be discussed.
