Scott Sprouse Talks Trash

Hendersonville Alderman Scott Sprouse (Ward 2) took to Facebook to talk about ongoing problems with the city’s trash vendor, Waste Pro. Here’s what he had to say:

Based upon the calls and texts I’ve received, trash pickup this week is worse than last week, especially routes on the Walton Ferry peninsula yesterday and more so for the route serving the area south of Luna Lane. Waste Pro starting running a rolling schedule this week, meaning they start each day by finishing the previous day’s routes before starting the routes scheduled for that day. That means they were supposed to finish the Walton Ferry peninsula routes today before moving on to other areas of town. Please message me directly if you do not receive service by the end of today. My email address is ssprouse@hvilletn.org. You may call or text me at 615-824-9327.

In May 2019, I cast the lone vote against selecting Waste Pro and changing to once a week service. My vote was based upon my experience gained over the years and my concerns that unfortunately have since been proven justified.

Please be assured city staff and officials are fully engaged with this issue. Waste Pro is expected to uphold their contractual obligations. If they don’t, the city has the ability to terminate the contract, but that is a process that requires time and documentation. As a practical matter, it also requires the city to make arrangements to have a new provider ready to assume the work.

The bottomline is the situation is unacceptable. I understand the anger. I share the frustration. I will not accept COVID-19 as an excuse. The pandemic did not cause the problems with our trash service, it only more fully revealed problems already there.

I have read people suggest bringing trash to aldermen’s homes. If I were in your shoes, I would think the same thing, but instead of putting that messy burden on my neighbors, please let me come to you. I’m ready to borrow my father’s pickup and make runs to the dump myself. Just let me know via the email address or cell number provided above.

I am sorry for the trouble. You deserve better.

As If

It's like some Hendersonville Alderpersons don't even LIVE in Hendersonville. I mean, read this from the Tennessean about the potential for Black Lives Matter protests here:

A disagreement over whose responsibility is it to call for a curfew in Hendersonville recently devolved into an hours-long, back-and-forth email thread, in which an alderman suggested the mayor resign.

 

Since then, city leaders have held multiple meetings to get “on the same page” and prepare for any potential protests that might occur in Hendersonville amid ongoing civil unrest about police brutality and racial injustice, but they've declined to divulge too many details out of concern for public safety.

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Aldermen Reject Term Limits Proposal

The Hendersonville Standard reports that the city's Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) rejected proposal that would have let citizens vote on whether or not there should be term limits for Aldermen. Here's more:

A resolution that would have paved the way for Hendersonville voters to decide for themselves whether or not the city’s mayor and aldermen should be limited to the number of terms they can serve failed on Tuesday.

Resolution 2019-60, proposed by Ward 5 Alderman Darrell Woodcock, sought to ask members of the Tennessee General Assembly to amend the city’s charter to allow for term limits for the two offices.

 

The measure needed a two-thirds majority of the 13-member board, or nine votes, in order to pass.  It failed 7-5-1. Voting yes were Woodcock, Edwards, Roberson, Waters, Bolt, Skidmore and Mayor Jamie Clary. Voting against were Brown, Petrelli, Sprouse, Pat Campbell of Ward 2 and Jonathan Hayes of Ward 5. Vice Mayor Arlene Cunningham, who represents Ward 3, abstained from the vote.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews 

BOMA Time

Alderman Russ Edwards is developing a proposal to limit the time of BOMA meetings -- meetings which routinely run past midnight.

Here's more from his Facebook post on the matter:

I’m introducing an ordinance to BOMA in an effort to expedite our meetings. This is really to start the discussion of how the BOMA meetings can be run more efficiently. As you may know, we consistently go until 1:00 a.m. The city and its citizens are not getting the best out of its city leaders when we do this.

Part of my proposal, which I’m not completely sold on yet, is to keep citizens comments on agenda items only. This would be consistent with most municipalities’ rules. Most city leaders I speak with are in shock that anyone can come talk about anything at our meetings. I’m still on the fence about this and want to get feedback before I move forward on it.

Please keep in mind that I’m happy to discuss any issue with anyone. My cell number and email address are on the city’s website. I return all my calls and I read all my emails. The best way to air your grievances or try to get an issue resolved is to contact your aldermen or the mayor instead of going to the full BOMA.

I agree that 90% of the problem with inefficiency in our meetings is us. I would like for us to follow the Robert’s Rules of Order more strictly and possibly limit the aldermen’s speaking times. Also, we should have more issues resolved in committees so they don’t have to be discussed at the full BOMA meetings.

A stricter BOMA agenda is in everyone’s best interest. It’s not fair to the citizens who want to attend the meetings to have to sit there for 5.5 hours. If they want to watch the meetings on YouTube it usually takes them three days. It’s also not good for the city employees who have to attend the BOMA meetings to be there until 1:00 a.m. after working all day and have to come back the next morning.

Sorry for the long post, but time management and efficiency are a passion of mine. The inefficiency in our meetings really drives me crazy. I do want to hear from the citizens and I enjoy being an alderman. My favorite part has been helping constituents with problems when they contact me. I’ll be happy to answer questions about this proposed ordinance.

What do you think? Should citizens comments be limited to only agenda items, similar to what happens in other cities or at the County Commission? Let us know: newshendersonville@gmail.com


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