MONTEBELLO POSTPONES TRASH DECISION
By Amanda Baumfeld, [email protected]
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
10/09/2008 11:30:47 PM PDT
CA
Residents hold up signs of protest on Wednesday at the Montebello City
Council meeting. (Watchara Phomicinda / Staff Photographer)MONTEBELLO
– In front of hundreds of protesting residents, the City Council on
Wednesday postponed a decision to let voters decide who takes out
the trash in Montebello’s commercial areas.
With some members saying they were afraid of pending litigation, the
City Council voted 3-2 to put off a decision to place a referendum on a
March ballot. The referendum would allow a popular vote to determine
if Athens Services should have the sole right to haul trash from
commercial areas.
Mayor Bill Molinari and Councilwoman Mary Anne Saucedo-Rodriguez
opposed, while council members Robert Urteaga, Rosemarie Vasquez and
Kathy Salazar voted to postpone the decision.
Despite the council’s decision, Molinari and Saucedo-Rodriguez said
they supported the will of the petitioners.
"My opinion is that we should … allow this to go to a vote of the
people," Molinari said.
The vote came after Athens Services in July was awarded a contract
to haul all trash in the city. Previously, much of the commercial
trash service was carried out by 13 independent haulers.
"I think the council made the proper decision," said Dennis Chiappetta,
executive vice president of Athens. "The residents were lied to
dramatically."
Tuesday’s decision upset many residents, who packed the council
chambers and spilled out into the hallway to hear the verdict.
"The bottom line is they are not listening to the people that got
them elected," said resident
Chris Robles.
He and several others said the council should have decided to put
the vote up to the people, despite the pending legal issue.
Hundreds of Montebello’s residents, especially members of
Armenian-American families, have a long history in the garbage
business. A large part of the city’s economy is associated with
refuse hauling. Independent haulers want the chance to bid on any
city contract.
The independent haulers circulated a petition calling for a referendum
to be placed on the ballot that would revoke Athens’ contract and
allow other haulers to work in the city.
They gathered 6,286 signatures. Of those, 4,578 were deemed valid by
the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s Office. State law requires
2,550 signatures or 10 percent of the city’s 25,496 registered voters
to qualify for the ballot.
Then on Monday, Irene Villapania of Montebello, with the support of
Athens, filed a lawsuit against the city. The suit challenges the
validity of the referendum and questions how signatures were collected.
Villapania, a director at Azusa Chamber of Commerce, is being
represented by several attorneys who also represent Athens.
Many Athens employees also came to the meeting, some speaking on the
benefits the exclusive contract could bring to the city, such as less
truck traffic and money for infrastructure.
The 15-year contract, worth about $7.8 million annually, provides
Montebello with $500,000 and 7.5 percent of gross receipts from
commercial accounts. Approved by Urteaga, Salazar and Vasquez, it
also phases out the 13 independent haulers who currently collect trash.
The same council majority is now asking the residents to wait for
the outcome of the lawsuit building frustration among independent
trash haulers.
"There is no victory for (Urteaga, Salazar and Vasquez), no matter
which way the issue falls," said Ron Saldana, who represented many
of the independent haulers and is the executive director of the Los
Angeles County Disposal Association.
"It is only a failure of leadership of the majority who have forced
these actions," he said.
When it came time to vote on the issue, Saucedo-Rodriguez made a motion
to allow the referendum, which was quickly followed by a substitute
motion from Salazar to wait until after the lawsuit.
Vasquez seconded the substitute motion before hearing what it was,
causing some residents to cry conspiracy.
"That tells you right there that there’s a deal in place with these
council people," said Jack Topalian of Montebello.