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Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Sunday, May 11, 2008
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A trip down trash patrol lane |
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
 01 Town Human Resources and Risk Management Director Michael Grossblatt shows off one of the new, self-locking trash bins the Town is slowly propagating throughout town.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTOS/LARA KIRKNER
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Mammoth Lakes, known for its majestic mountains, clear lakes and streams, its wonderful recreational amenities...and its trash. Part of Mammoth's history has been one of overflowing trash bins and people pointing their fingers in someone's else direction when it came time to take responsibility for the mess. Recently, however, a new curve has appeared in the middle of this well-traveled road.
"This is disappointing in a way," Grossblatt, the Town Human Resource and Risk Control Management Director said, though only half-joking. "I wanted to be able to walk you through the process of what we do when we find a trash spill."
Grossblatt was out on his usual morning trash patrol, but since there was not one trash spill in sight that day he explained what the Town does when one is discovered.
"If the spill is really big and looks like it's going to start getting blown around by the wind, we will start by calling Mammoth Disposal," Grossblatt explained. "We will have them come out and clean up the mess and charge it to the owners. If the spill is not so big we call the owners first and give them a few hours to clean up before we call Mammoth Disposal. Citations are given out on the basis of the reputation of the project with the spill. If they have had many offenses already we will fine them. If it's their first or second time we try to educate them." Fines start at $100.
With the recent departure of Code Compliance Officer Rick Ramirez, and the imminent awakening of local bears — Grossblatt said he's already seen a few, making sure Mammoth's trash is under control has become a balancing act of wildlife education and finding people in the Town offices to take on code compliance.
At this point the Town is leaving the Code Compliance Officer position, and several others, vacant because of the current budget shortfall.
Ramirez had made his presence known in all the problem areas of town, such as the Sierra Valley Sites. Now, Grossblatt said, the Town just needs to keep on top of things so that neighborhoods don't start to slack off and get messy again.
Which brings us back to the morning trash patrol.
Grossblatt and Senior Public Works Inspector Ron Fansler have taken over the majority of Ramirez's trash control work.
Between the two, a Town vehicle makes the rounds at least once — often twice — daily, five times per week.
"The route covers 80 percent of the bins in town, and 100 percent of the problem bins," Grossblatt said from the driver's seat of the Town's red jeep. The vehicle not only serves as a quick way to get around town, but its bright color and Town logo provide a clear presence to local residents.
"Rick Ramirez was a no nonsense guy, who did a good job getting people to clean up because he would give out citations," said Leigh Gaasch, a local activist who lives on Lupin Street. The street was considered a major problem before Ramirez came to town.
Gaasch added that having a clear set of rules to follow makes things like trash control run a lot smoother.
"People noticed him driving though," Gaasch said. "I don't notice Town vehicles now, but the new bear-proof dumpsters work really well."
Grossblatt demonstrated one of these new dumpsters during patrol. The Town is slowly providing neighborhoods around town with the new and allegedly improved dumpsters, which are described as "self locking." Someone who wants to use the trash receptacle must put their hand in a small opening on the top and push a lever to unlock and open the lid, a la the dumpsters located at Shady Rest Park.
The old dumpsters use a counterbalance system that frequently means lids are not properly close by patrons. Local bears, meanwhile, have figured out how to open them, if not by manipulation then by brute strength alone. Often, after getting the dumpster open, patrons simply leave the lid open, or close the lid, but fail to lock the arm, rendering the dumpster susceptible to incursion by wildlife.
"The locking arm is one more step that most people don't take the time to complete," Grossblatt said. "Plus, the bears have learned to either bend the arm back with their strength and then open the lid, or else they just push up on the lid itself and are so strong that they can force it open even with the arm locked."
At a cost of $1,000 to the Town, versus the old units that cost $300-$400, all 650 dumpsters can't be replaced at once. In the meantime, Grossblatt has devised a chain-locking system that is slowly replacing the arms on the older bins.
The arm is removed and a chain is wrapped through the handles on a bin and then locked with a heavy duty lock. While this mechanism still demands that humans take an extra step to make sure the bin is securely closed, even the savviest bears won't be able to open the bin if it is locked properly.
"It's all about staying one step ahead of the bears," Grossblatt said.
The excitement of seeing a live bear has always been a large part of Mammoth's community for locals and visitors, but over the years people's curiosity has led to the detriment of the animals' health and safety.
Gone are the days when people purposely left trash bins open in the hope of catching the Ursus on film. They have been replaced by community pride and the bear phenomenon, which inspire people to make habits of locking their lids. However, public education on how to safely interact with this wild species, and all the others that frequent the town, is still a long way from complete.
Trash, bears and Steve Searles
Things came to a head in Mammoth last summer when drought-like conditions, along with the firing of local Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles, caused local bears to run rampant. Several had to be euthanized and one was hit by a car in the Sierra Valley Sites.
In response to the situation, the Town Council put together a Wildlife Committee last fall to begin work on a new plan that was to be ready this year when the bears wake up from their winter slumber. The Committee was also charged with hiring an investigator to look into the personnel matter between Searles and the Mammoth Lakes Police Department.
"The report came back saying that no wrongdoings had been done," said Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Sugimura, who sits on the Wildlife Committee along with Grossblatt, Town Manager Rob Clark, Police Chief Randy Schienle and Mayor Skip Harvey.
Therefore, the Committee has moved forward with its work, at this time without Searles. They have met with officials in Yosemite National Park to study how bears are dealt with there. The most important part of the process, according to the Committee's findings, is public education. Yosemite starts the process by handing visitors information as soon as they enter the park.
Citations for trash spills are one of the first steps toward a more bear-friendly community; continued public education is a second.
The Committee was expected to report to Town Council last night regarding its plans for this year. Both Grossblatt and Sugimura stated that the Committee has not ruled out continuing to work with Searles in the future, but Sugimura said, "We are a bureaucracy and, in order to work together, everyone has to follow the rules and protocol. We can't just break the rules for one person because he's a nice person."
Sugimura was alluding to the allegation that Searles refused to work on the Town's schedule of hours and time clocks.
Searles, who does not see himself as a conventional employee and believes that anyone who would be good at the job of Wildlife Specialist would not be conventional, said, "The animals don't punch a time clock and a good person for this job needs to dictate their hours to the animals' schedules." He added that he had used timeclocks for his work in the past.
See next week's Mammoth Times for full coverage of the Wildlife Committee's report to Town Council
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Last Updated ( Friday, 28 March 2008 )
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