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Laura Kellerman Zuber
1 hr
Hi all, in response to some posts here, I'd like to take a few minutes to reply and clarify again what is going on regarding trash. There're a lot of rumors, some completely false accusations, more than a few misunderstandings, and a few inaccuracies regarding trash especially, in regards to your CSD. So I'll try an answer some questions that have come up.
I try to be forthcoming, informative, and helpful regarding posts, but I can't always see them. Some people have me blocked on a particular post, and that's fine, so it's really great when others join in on stating the facts about the "new" rules for trash here in Wrightwood. In reality, there really aren't any "new" dump rules, but an enforcement of the old ones and a new procedure to two perhaps, but not new rules. I thought I'd start this thread to address some of the questions.
How much do we pay for the dump?
As others have pointed out, if you have questions about dump fees etc, please read the article in the Mountaineer Progress this week. Basically folks, we each pay $85 per year per developed parcel to use the dump. That's it. Frankly, I personally thought we each paid a lot more than that. Before I knew the dollar amount, I had no idea it was so low. I would have said we each pay hundreds of dollars as a guess. I had to actually pull my tax receipt out and verify it because I didn't believe it.
I used to be so irritated when I went to the dump and they made me pay for tile I was ripping out of my bathroom, or old tires etc because "I pay my taxes, I should get to use it how I want to use it!" But the facts of the matter are that we pay about a $1.00 per week to use the dump for regular, household waste. That's a pretty good deal.
So that $85 per developed parcel has to go REALLY far to accommodate a town for a whole year. So yes, the rules, as laid out by the state and the county, have to be enforced now so that we don't go over our budget. The rule was always one time per week for regular household waste. Go back and look at your letter that came with the old dump card. It was always one time per week, up to 500 lbs for regular household waste. No remodeling waste, no contracting waste, no business waste.
Why can't I go to the dump as much as I used to?
Now, when we became a CSD on July 1st, the county left us very little money to run our CSD until the new tax money dispursement comes in. So for a little more than $1.00 per week, you get to use the dump for up to 500 lbs of private household trash dumping. That's your basic food wrappers, paper plates, food waste, dog poo etc. That is not renovation waste such as tile, drywall, wood; not remodeling waste, and not contracting. This is exactly the same as it always was. Granted, the dump used to allow you to go back and use a previous unpunched week, and mostly because the scale didn't work, they didn't weigh you but "guessed" how much you were taking in. However, the CSD cannot allow that anymore because it was being abused, for the most part, by contractors. Contractors were using it to dump their remodeling waste at taxpayer expense instead of building it into their quote and paying for it. The county did keep records on what each dump card took to the dump, so it is documented that some individuals were dumping literal TONS of trash each week on a private dump card meant for household waste. That just can't be allowed any more. If you would like to see how much trash you took per week, Wes would be happy to give you that figure if you are curious.
I need to clean my yard so I don't get a fine, so how do I do a clean up if I can't take pine needles?
Pine needles and other yard waste can be taken more than 1 time per week, up to 52 times per year in a regular full tax year allotment. However, since the CSD didn't have a full year of jurisdiction for this year, you can take your pine needle waste up to the remaining 13 times that were left in this year at the time of the agreement. I hope that makes sense. If you want to use your 13 times in one week FOR PINE NEEDLE REMOVAL ONLY, you can. The CSD did allow for multiple trips of pine needle removal in a week as that is a job that tends to be a job people do all at once....a big clean up of the yard done on a Saturday for example.
Now, to keep reduce the amount of pine needles put into the dump, as mandated by the state, the CSD will be arranging more pine needle clean up weekends, where we can take them and drop them off in town at the lot next to the post office. Currently, it's been only that one time per year in the spring. But there will be 3 in the coming year I believe. This way, we as a community aren't charged for them at the landfill. They will be recycled and used at Mt. High, or taken to be turned into mulch, and it is so much easier to take them by the load in town instead of taking them to the dump. This is an IMPROVEMENT in your services. This is one example of what was done with the awesome cooperation of Brent at C R and R who has gone above and beyond to make suggestions, and to offer services that they county could have had, but never taken advantage of.
Another example, C R and R now empties the trash cans at the park instead of the CSD paying an employee to do it. This is saving YOU, a Wrightwood property owner, money. It is allowing the CSD board, who are your neighbors, and your friends, to stretch your tax dollars. This service was offered to the county many times by C R and R, but the county never took advantage of it and the county paid an employee to do it. Mostly this was because there really wasn't a local representative to say 'Yes, we'd love it if C R and R would pick up the trash at the park on your runs.' So now, by having regular communication with C R and R, the CSD is working together with them to reduce what goes into the landfill, as required by the state, and to save us money as tax payers.
I have too much trash this week. So what if it's more than 500 lbs?
If you need to go to the dump more than once per week for regular household waste - not remodeling waste, not carpet, not private contracting waste, you still CAN go to the dump more than once per week, but you have to pay for that additional load. Say for example that you are cleaning out a house that was in the family, but is now being sold. You need to get rid of the figurines, the avocado curtains and the seventies clothing that remained in the house that no one in the family wanted. You can still take that to the dump, but after your 1 time per week allotment, you will have to pay for the load. You can still use the dump, but you have to pay the fee per pound. The cost is .03 per pound. So the first load of that week up to 500 lbs of regular household waste would be punched on your dump card, but the additional loads would be .03 per pound. They will weigh you in and out so you have an exact measurement. No more guessing.
But I am busting out a wall, how do I get rid of this remodeling waste?
If you are remodeling a house, or are a contractor, or have a business, you can still use the dump. But you have to pay for that waste because it is not covered under "regular household waste". The county doesn't assess business parcels the $85 per year for dump services. A business should either have a dumpster for trash, or pay when they go to the dump.
ONE VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE
The only other important, and also irritating difference in trash enforcement is that you can't take regular household waste and green waste at the same time. Unfortunately, that's because they county scales and computers are not sophisticated enough to let the load be separated. So if you are taking a bunch of pine needles, you'll have to take it on a separate run from regular household waste so your don't go over the 500 lb limit. It's very annoying and unfortunate. The CSD tried to get around that issue, but ultimately, the county just does not have the computer system to accommodate it. It is an inconvenience for sure. Hopefully it will be fixed in the future.
It takes a long time now to be weighed and out
If you are experiencing delays at the dump while taking the trash, I have found personally, that a great way to avoid a long line at the dump is to go late in the afternoon on Saturday. For some reason, the line at the dump is very long in the mornings, and has almost no wait in the afternoons. You can dash in and out after 2 or so on Saturdays.
What will happen to the money that the CSD saves by enforcing the rules?
The money saved by not allowing the abuse of the dump cards will mean more money goes into the general budget for the town. We can do improvements to the parks, and the community buildings. We can have better cleanups for snow play season. In short, it's not been decided, but it will be in the general fund for the town, to be decided by the town. No money goes for salary for any board member. They are all serving without pay.
I hope that clarifies what is going on with regards to the CSD and trash. By taking on this power, we have voted our friends and neighbors to make decisions that are sometimes unpopular. They aren't a nameless faceless group of bureaucrats. They honestly are your neighbors, your fellow church members, and your friends. No one likes a budget. But if we are to have local representation, and a say in how we want to run our town, we have to live within our means. And by enforcing the rules that have always been in place, we can do that. And local representation means we will not be bullied and neglected by the county, but have our own priorities.
Again, please come to the meetings and see what is really happening with your tax dollars. There is always a public commentary portion of the meeting where you can have your say. The board would like to hear your feedback and concerns. You can also email at
dumpcards@wrightwoodcsd.org on this issue specifically.
