Berlin To Start Picking Up Community's Trash

BERLIN - Town of Berlin garbage trucks will soon begin serving Franklin Knolls, a development in Berlin that has been relying on private trash pick-up for years while waiting for developer ADC Builders to complete the roads.

The Berlin Mayor and Council asked Franklin Knolls resident Jason Walter, who spoke before the council two weeks ago to seek town services, to ask the Franklin Knolls Homeowners Association to write Berlin a release of liability allowing the town to bring its garbage trucks into the subdivision.

'If they would sign off on that, we would start collecting garbage,' Council member Ellen Lang said.

Walter said he would present the request to the Board of Directors of the Franklin Knolls homeowners association.

'That would resolve the issue. Quite frankly, we'd just rather pick it up,' interim Mayor Gee Williams said.

'Hopefully, it'll solve your problem,' Lang said.

Walter went before Berlin's elected officials two weeks ago to complain that the taxpaying residents of Franklin Knolls were not getting trash service from the town. The developer had been paying for trash service, then shifted the payment responsibility onto the homeowners association about a year ago, at a cost of $900 a month.

Staff explained then that garbage pick-up could only begin when the developer put the final topcoat on the roads.

'We appreciate you offering to pick up our garbage,' Walter said.

'The town just wants to provide the service,' said Williams. 'As soon as you sign it, we'll start.'

The Franklin Knolls roads should be topcoated soon, said Berlin's Administrative Director Linda Bambary later in the week.

As president of the Purnell Crossing Homeowners Association, local developer Troy Purnell said he would like to request garbage pick-up under the same arrangement for the development. He said he had made a similar request in the past. 'We'd like our garbage picked up, too,' Purnell said.

Williams told Purnell to speak to town attorney Dave Gaskill.

Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing said that his neighborhood, Franklin Square, would also like their garbage picked up. That development is on a private road that has not been dedicated to the town.

Berlin staff will develop a policy for this type of situation for the future.