When Mount Vernon switched to the Republic Waste Services at the beginning of July, members of Colonial Estates were not sure what their waste removal options would be. Birch Realty, who owns the facility, did not communicate what the changes were ahead of the July 1 switch at the park, a violation of Iowa law governing mobile home parks.
The City of Mount Vernon, according to Chris Nosbisch, provided guidance recommending individual totes, but Birch Realty was the owner of the property and made the final decision.
“The vast majority of the infrastructure in the mobile home park is privately owned by Birch Realty, leaving the city with very few options to intervene,” Nosbisch said. “The city was not privy to the specifics of their decision-making process.”
According to resident Mette Kelley, the dumpsters are currently emptied twice a week. Nosbisch noted that is Birch’s choice, and comes with an added cost to them.
Kelley noted that for several residents the dumpsters have proved to be a challenge. The lids that cover the trash cans are heavy, and, combined with the height, many residents struggle with either opening the lids or lifting bags to the dumpsters to dispose of their trash bags.
Kelley said at the moment, some tenants have been leaving one of the lids open on the trash dumpsters, which is against city codes, or dumpsters get too full and lids can’t adequately close.
“If dumpsters have lids, they are supposed to be closed,” Kelley said. “Not doing so offers an opportunity for more nuisances, especially animals, to be attracted to the area.”
It also allows water to infiltrate dumppsters and provide wastewater accumulating around said dumpsters, contributing to possible bacteria residents now traipse in to dispose of waste.
Kelley and other residents are concerned about how this situation will work in the winter.
“Birch Realty does plow the court once a day during the winter, but I’m concerned how these dumpsters will be kept free and clear of snow and ice,” Kelley said. “They currently sit where snow plows have plowed snow in the past. Will residents have to be worried about snow and ice walking their garbage to the dumpsters? Will plows be through soon enough for residents to get rid of their garbage following a storm?”
The other issue is where the dumpsters are located is not under direct lights, which makes the trek more dangerous for residents if they’re dropping trash off in the evening or during winter hours, when it’s darker sooner.
Even with the trash picked up on Tuesdays and Fridays, with more than 50 mobile homes using the same two dumpsters, garbage can accumulate quickly, which forces residents to know how full the dumpsters are before transporting trash. Tenants of the mobile home park are tasked with keeping waste and refuse from accumulating near their homes as spelled out in the Iowa code for tenants of mobile home parks. There are concerns that if removal does not keep up with the trash generated by residents, the situation may attract more nuisance issues in the mobile home park – either at individual mobile homes or at the dumpsters themselves.
Nosbisch said that as long as trash is being collected and nuisance issues do not exist in the park, there is little the city can do to force Birch Realty to change the receptacles offered.
Residents used to moving their trash from containers near their trailers now need to load up containers of trash or individual bags to take to the dumpsters, possibly located a distance away from their mobile homes, depending where they live in the court.
Kelley also noted this waste disposal provides difficulty for those who have mobility or disabilities to dispose of their trash without assistance. These dumpsters do not meet American with Disabilities Act standards, and no accommodations have been made for people who might be impacted.
Kelley said that she has heard concerns from property owners along Ink Road, that it could impact their property taxes if the situation in the courts worsens.
Kelley and other residents still don’t understand why individual totes were not rolled out to each mobile home in the park, noting tenants at the park pay Birch Realty for waste removal services.
The recycling dumpster full at the mobile home court early last week.