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Somerset to explore providing curbside trash service to Pine Hills Mobile Home Park
Summary
City staff presented costs and logistics for adding residential trash pickup to the Pine Hills Mobile Home Park; council directed staff to contact the park owner and pursue a plan that could involve individual billing or a bulk contract and to identify funding to buy 96-gallon containers.
The Somerset City Council directed staff to explore offering city-run residential trash collection for Pine Hills Mobile Home Park and to contact the park owner about the idea.
Staff explained the park currently uses 96-gallon individual containers and a private vendor for service; the city does not now provide mixed-waste collection there because the park historically was served as a commercial account with large dumpsters. Staff calculated one-time container costs and ongoing operating revenue: containers from the vendor run approximately $100 each (some shipping/options cited lower per-unit figures when bought in large minimum orders), and staff estimated the city could earn about $1,500to $1,800 a month in additional revenue after tipping fees if it took over service for roughly 150 addresses. Staff estimated the city would recover container costs in about seven to eight months under the revenue scenarios discussed.
Councilors discussed logistics and legal issues: whether park lots count as individual residential addresses under city ordinance, the need to check contract status between the park and its current vendor (referred to in the discussion as "Keefer/Kiefer Sanitation"), road and route constraints inside the park, payment-collection options (individual resident accounts vs. a bulk contract with park management), and the risk of a business dispute if the city competed with a private vendor. Commissioners said they wanted to proceed cautiously: staff should confirm ordinance language, reach out to the park owner, develop a cost plan (including whether to pick up containers themselves to save shipping), and propose a timeline and notification plan so residents and the current vendor have adequate notice.
The council did not vote to start service immediately; instead members generally agreed to move forward with staff outreach and planning, and staff said they could identify supply funding in the current budget if the council decides to proceed.
