Resident group alleges unsafe, overweight hauling and calls for contract scrutiny

Philip Craft, representing local nonprofit Cardboard Cares, used the board’s public‑comment period to urge scrutiny of an upcoming contract extension on the Pope‑Douglas Solid Waste Board agenda. Craft alleged that since the current carrier took over two years ago their trucks have intentionally hauled hundreds of overweight loads for profit and that the practice has public‑safety consequences, including the potential for tire blowouts.

Craft cited Pope‑Douglas scale records and said he reported safety violations to the Minnesota Highway Patrol last March. He alleged the carrier’s roadside inspection out‑of‑service percentage was more than three times the national average over the last 24 months and that 83% of their roadside inspections in that period resulted in vehicles deemed unfit. He said the carrier previously was involved in a 2020 crash that killed a local resident, and he claimed the carrier continues to use substandard equipment and to leak so‑called "forever chemicals" (PFAS) into groundwater.

Craft said he has a box of supporting materials — emails, bids, sworn statements and scale reports — and offered to present those documents to officials. He asked the board to consider public safety as a major factor in selecting contractors and said it would be irresponsible to allow a carrier that previously submitted a fraudulent bid, according to his claim, to continue to collect public funds.

The board did not take action on the allegations during the meeting. The speaker’s assertions are his statements to the board; county staff did not respond with substantiating data at the meeting and no formal investigation or finding was announced.