Mason County Fiscal Court approved the second reading of an ordinance Tuesday which creates universal trash collection in the county.

The ordinance is the result of a legislative mandate in the form of House Bill 174.

It also provides for contracting of trash service and collection of fees for those services from residents.

The intention of the county is to contract for the best collection service at the most affordable cost, said County Attorney John Estill.

The ordinance does not specify how collection will be contracted, or with whom, or how fees will be collected. The ordinance “just sets up a framework,” he said.

Judge-Executive James L. “Buddy” Gallenstein said he has been talking to area water districts about billing for trash collection on water bills, but that method has not been decided on. The county is looking for the best method of payment, he said.

There are currently about 1,100 county residents having their trash collected. That number should increase above 3,000 with universal collection, said Gallenstein.

Commissioner Pat McKay said about 80 percent of county residents are properly disposing of their trash. It’s the other 20 percent that are burdening the trash system of Maysville by taking their garbage into town for pick-up, burdening businesses by dumping trash in commercial Dumpsters or damaging the environment by dumping in hollows and along roads.

This is the 21st Century, not the 1600s, McKay said. Those people need to take responsibility for their trash.

Gallenstein estimated the cost of collection at $10 per month initially per household, and universal collection could be expected to begin in March or April.

Also Tuesday, Road Department Supervisor Jerry Arthur explained his department’s snow removal policies.

Gravel roads are never plowed except in emergency situations, Arthur said, and they are not cleaned at night. The county does not clean them at all if they are passable because they don’t want to remove the gravel with the snow. Gravel roads cannot be salted, but the county will put fly-ash on gravel roads if residents request it, he said.

There are also some blacktop roads which are not plowed at night due to vehicles parked along the road. The county waits until daylight and uses a pickup truck to plow with because the roads are too narrow for a large truck, he said.

In other action, the court:

  • Approved the calendar year 2003 $3.8 million budget for County Clerk Frances Cotterill and $196,560 for deputy clerk salaries.
  • Approved the lease of a new road department truck for $61,000 at 2.5 percent for three years.
  • Appointed Tommy Stanfield of Orangeburg to the Joint Planning Commission.
  • Re-appointed Bill Tolle and Sue Scott to the Mason County Cooperative Extension Service Board.
  • Set the date for a special meeting at 9 a.m. Dec. 20; swearing in of new officers at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3, and first meeting of the new term at 9 a.m. Jan. 6.