Garbage issue still lingers in air
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Garbage.
If a recent letter to County Executive Kenneth Rogers from City Attorney James Dempster is any indication, the issue with the handling of household waste in the county is far from being disposed. The fact city officials have gone so far as to have a formal letter drafted by their legal counsel indicates the seriousness of their position.
The letter states clearly that if private haulers in other county municipalities, with Morrison being specifically mentioned in the document, are allowed to dump waste in the county convenience centers without charge, then the city of McMinnville should be allowed to do so as well, and any other action would be considered as discriminatory to the city of McMinnville.
The letter gave the county 30 days to rectify the situation or be subjected to legal action. The letter has led the Health and Welfare Committee to draft yet another resolution to try and address the controversy and avoid a lawsuit.
Health and Welfare Committee chairman Wayne Pryor stated the wording of the resolution should serve to alleviate the objections the city seems to have with the current rules, since it states that other municipalities “are prohibited from collecting household garbage to be delivered and dumped at a Warren County convenience center.”
That resolution passed in a voice vote at the full commission meeting Tuesday, perhaps avoiding McMinnville’s threatened suit, though the city has not yet indicated its actions.
In a side note, garbage was apparently not the only problem the city of McMinnville has with county concerning Morrison. The letter also mentioned the fact the county is currently paying the electric bill and maintenance for the traffic lights in the town of Morrison, a situation McMinnville officials also consider discriminatory, though no suit is being threatened to remedy that situation.