Cory Riner

Staff writer

RED SPRINGS — About 30 Red Springs residents came out Thursday night to express their concerns about a plan to privatize trash pickup and switch to curbside service and recycling.

Among the concerns cited during the public hearing by the Board of Commissioners were the loss of city jobs and placing waste receptacles near a road, where they might be knocked over.

“To place one or two garbage cans beside a busy street only means they will be blown into the ditch and the garbage service will not retrieve the garbage from the ditch,” said Paul Kaminer, who lives beside N.C. 211. “This creates an impossible situation which will require me to not only pay for garbage service, but then have to take my own garbage off to a garbage collection station.”

The commissioners also expressed reservations about privatizing the service, and ended the night without taking any action.

“I think we need to settle the dust by not only tabling, but let’s put this away,” Commissioner Duron Burney said. “I’ve been against this from the start.”

Mayor John McNeill said if the town continues to provide the service, it would have to spend $185,000 on a new truck, which would result in a monthly rate increase of $3.50 to about $24. He said that privatizing the service could reduce the fee from $2 to $5 a month at the expense of one city job.

Jimmy Thigpen, of All-Points Waste Service, said he was concerned over the town’s process of collecting bids. He said his company was not contacted and that his company could provide residents with the same service the town currently offers.

“I’ve not heard anything here from the citizens that we can’t do. It’s what we do. We provide backdoor service for customers, curbside service for customers, and recycling for customers,” Thigpen said. “It can be done.”

In other action on Thursday, the board voted to: approve a budget amendment that transfers $19,987 to replace guttering at a building leased by Dayco Products. It also approved a 60-day lease for Dayco Products to occupy additional space in the building, which used to be home to Sanfatex.