TRUMBULL COUNTY Warren council votes to allow advertising for new trash pact

The current contract expires at the end of the year.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A contract for the city's trash transfer will include a provision that will allow parties to the deal to end the agreement with 60 days' notice.
City council passed an ordinance at a meeting Wednesday to allow the administration to advertise for bids for a new pact to run through 2009. Passage came after a five-year renewal clause was removed and the 60-day provision was added.
The city has had a contract for several years with Warren Recycling Inc. to use that company's transfer station on Martin Luther King Avenue.
The city pays about $1 million annually for the service. That contract expires at the end of this year.
Councilman James A. "Doc" Pugh, legislation sponsor, has said he wants the city to pursue a municipally owned and run transfer station.
The city picks up between 25,000 and 26,000 tons of trash a year and transports it to the transfer station. That amount has remained consistent for several years despite the city's population loss.
Ordinance on rail crossings
Council members also passed an ordinance expected to lay the groundwork for improvements to several rail crossings in the city.
The ordinance lets the city vacate a portion of Vernon Avenue Northwest between Forest Drive Northwest and Freeman Street Northwest, which includes a rail crossing. This will enable Bloom Industries, a plastics manufacturer, to funnel truck traffic to the business via Vernon rather than Freeman.
Because crossings between road vehicles and trains present safety concerns, the state looks favorably on eliminating such safety problems, and may be amenable to awarding grants to improve other crossings, officials have said.
Council members also passed a resolution supporting the 1-mill, 10-year replacement levy for Trumbull Lifelines on next week's election ballot. Councilwoman Susan E. Hartman, D-7th, voted against the resolution, saying she didn't have enough information about it to tell her residents to support it.
The levy would raise an additional $1 million annually for services. Lifelines is the county's alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services board.