Garbage and Recycling service in Corinth

The City of Corinth provides garbage and recyclables collection services for its residents. The City currently contracts for this service with Waste Management, a company that provides waste collection services to many communities in Texas. The current contract with Waste Management expires at the end 2012. The City has contracted with Waste Management since about 1996 for this service.

Several months ago, the City issued a request for proposals to provide solid waste and recyclables collection for the City of Corinth. As of the deadline for submittal of the proposals, the City received three proposals. The staff is currently evaluating the proposals, and preparing them for presentation to the Council. With only two regular sessions and one workshop left for the year, it seems very likely that the proposals will be agenda items very soon. The remaining regular sessions are on December 6 and 20, 2012, and the workshop date is December 13, 2012. Unless there is a special called session, the latest date to select and approve a proposal is December 20, 2012.

To date, I have not received any significant complaints about the garbage collection service provided by Waste Management. In general, they seem to be doing a good job. Of course in the last 16 years much has changed with waste collection and disposal, the most obvious of which is the increased emphasis on recycling. It is important to evaluate the service we will request for the next 10 to 15 years based on possible and probable changes in the future as well as on the service we have received in the past. Certainly, the cost of the service is also very important.

Some items specifically mentioned in the request for proposals included larger recycle bins, large and bulky item removal, emergency cleanup (after major storms for example), and hazardous materials collection.

If you have concerns, questions, or suggestions about garbage collection for the future in Corinth or comments about the current garbage collection process, please let me know by commenting here, or contacting me directly at bhanson@cityofcorinth.com.

Final Lake Cities Proposed Contract

The City Manager brought the terms for the final proposal for the Lake Cities Fire Services Contract to the council July 31, 2012. These are the terms that the City Councils for Lake Dallas and Hickory Creek expressed agreement to in votes the prior week. At this point, the cities of Lake Dallas and Hickory Creek have not signed the Fire Services Contract, although their vote would seem to be an indication that they are willing to do so on these terms.

So what are the terms that have been negotiated? The changes from the original proposal the City of Corinth sent the other towns are primarily revolving around the costs each city is willing to pay. There were also some other minor changes.

Be sure to get out and Vote

Early voting for local elections began on April 30, 2012. Early voting for the City of Corinth continues today (May 5) through 5 PM, and resumes Monday May 7 and goes through Tuesday May 8th. Voting Monday and Tuesday will be conducted from 7 AM to 7 PM. Election Day is May 12, 2012, with the polls open from 7 AM until 7 PM.

The Lake Cities Fire Department

Many of your may already know that the City of Corinth operates the Lake Cities Fire Department. It provides Fire and Emergency Medical services to all four of the 'Lake Cities': Corinth, Hickory Creek, Lake Dallas, and Shady Shores. All four of the Cities provide funding for the Fire Department through interlocal agreements (or contracts).

Corinth MUD #1 Update - 4/20/2011 - No its not dead!

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (the TCEQ) has stated that there is no authority for the MUD to declare itself inactive. It is active and responsible for its actions.

Corinth MUD #1 Update April 3

There was a Corinth Municipal Utility District # 1 board meeting held on Friday March 25, 2011. At this meeting, after signing some 2009 property tax rebate checks, and signing some more expense checks (without telling anyone what the checks were for, or who they were made out to), a letter was read into the record by the president of the board.

Public/Private Funding of a Road Project

Previously I talked about the widening of I-35E from I-635 to US-380. The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has schematics drawn of the proposed 12 lane highway project. They propose 4 managed/toll lanes and 8 unmanaged/free lanes. The toll lanes are supposed to provide the method to pay for the project in what is known as a public/private partnership.

Widening 35

A significant issue on the minds of North Texans is the congestion on 35E. All the way from Duncanville to north of Denton there are traffic jams and delays. In our particular neck of the woods we have a particularly nice spot, near Corinth Parkway, that tends to be jammed up most evenings, and often in the morning hours. Many would say that this is due to a lack of capacity on the two lanes northbound from Corinth Parkway. Others, me included, would say that it is the reduction from three lanes to two lanes that is major culprit. Either way it seems logical to want to increase the capacity on 35E in some fashion.

Corinth MUD #1 - no end in sight yet?

Previously the Corinth Municipal Utility District #1 (MUD #1) board had made some vague statements about being able to dissolve by January 24th. Today is March 10th, and they still have not dissolved. As of March 8th it was necessary for the City Council to call the election on the petition received by the city with respect to the ordinance that the council passed dissolving the MUD. In several meetings up to this point, some that I personally attended, it was stated by the board that they would have dissolved the district before the election. In an article written by Tim Glaze of the Lake Cities Sun (titled MUD Writes First Checks), 'Board members believe they will have dissolved the district before the city would need to call an election on the petition and incur the expense'. The Article is several weeks old - yet here we are with the election called...

Corinth MUD #1 Update

The January 24 Corinth MUD #1 board meeting has come and gone - and the board did NOT pass a resolution to dissolve the MUD. I recall that after the City Council voted to dissolve the MUD, and the MUD went out and passed around a petition to reinstate the MUD, the board suggested that if we (the council) would repeal our dissolution ordinance, they would dissolve the MUD on January 24th. They didn't.

Budget 2011 - First look

October first started the 2010-11 fiscal year, and the 2010 budget. Unfortunately there was in increase in the tax rate from .57698 to .59292 which was an increase to the effective rate. Property values declined overall in the city from $1,393,914,517 to $1,368,721,005, about 1.81%. There was also a decline in sales tax revenue at the same time, which is no surprise given how the economy was going.

Consideration of a Moratorium on issuing Gas Well Permits in the City of Corinth

At the last council session (May 6, 2010), at the end I requested that discussion of an ordinance to enact a moratorium on Gas Well Permits being issued be added to the May 20, 2010 Council Session agenda. I went so far as to poll the council - if at least 2 other council members agreed it would have to be put on the agenda per City Code 30.085(B). However, I was unable to get even one other council member to throw in on it - so it was up to the mayor and/or city manager to decide if that would be on the agenda.

Apparently one (or both) did decide to place it on the agenda - which I believe is very important for us to at least discuss. After the last month of discussions on the XTO request for a gas well permit, I felt that we should review our well permitting ordinance. During that review, it would be in the city's (and the residents') best interests to not allow any new permit requests.

The moratorium would be temporary and would have an appeals process in place. During the moratorium, council and staff would be working on any revisions necessary to the Gas Well Ordinance. We obtained a tremendous amount of technical information related to Gas Wells during the recent application process. It is very possible that this new information could have an impact on what our ordinance needs to say.

This moratorium would only apply to new gas well permits - the permit that XTO requested (and was denied) would not be subject to the moratorium. You might remember that we denied without prejudice, such that they (XTO) could reapply in light of what they learned in the original permit process.

for most, the story ends here

Now that the City of Corinth has denied XTO's gas well permit applications, most of the several hundred people who were attending meetings and speaking out will go back to their normal lives and probably pay little or no attention to what is happening.

Just couldn't happen at a worse time. As of now the Corinth Comprehensive plan is scheduled for public hearing and action by the Council on May 6, 2010. As important as it was for the public to come out and speak up at the XTO permit hearings, it is even more important to pay attention, get educated and speak up at the Comp Plan hearing.

The comprehensive plan if enacted will direct overhauls of many of our most important ordinances, including (but not limited to) zoning and subdivision, and will map the direction for our capital improvement projects for years to come. Some will remember the controversy around the Church Street reconstruction project - it was the comp plan from 2004-5 that set that in motion, and the contents of the infrastructure specifications in the comp plan that defined how the road would be built (how wide it would be).

The comp plan could be a significant instrument in defining how land gets used - and that can have a big impact on the Gas well situation. Or not, if no one speaks up about it.

So, where do you want the city to go? Stay involved, get involved with the comprehensive plan for the city of Corinth - read the plan, let us know what you think is important and come to the meetings/public hearings to have your voice heard.

XTO Energy Compressor Requirements Variance Request

XTO Energy is requesting variances to most of the essential requirements of the Lift compressor regulations of 114.15 Corinth City Code. Since XTO has said during the public hearing that they probably won't need the compressor, it may be best to wait on this variance until they decide they do need it.

Some of the most important aspects of quality of life in any city, and certainly here in Corinth, are the sound level at night, and the visual aspects of the streets and building architecture. The variance seems to request a blanket exception that could change sound levels at residences a considerable amount - something that is really not in the public interest, or in the interest of adjacent property owners.

More Information

My thoughts on the City's legal powers to regulate

I have been researching the Texas constitution, Texas Administrative Code, the Local Code, and such case law as I have been able to find, as well as some legal research works in law journals. The short story is that Home Rule Cities have far ranging authority to regulate. Yet they are subject to private property rules that can create takings claims.

I have put together my thoughts on this subject (at least the first part, our authorities) at my gas wells issue page.

Help with the Budget?

At the April 1st regular session of the City council of Corinth, Texas we will be considering appropriating funds to expend on projects that will be reimbursed by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). When all is said and done it may be possible to remove some budgeted expenditures for the fiscal year because they fall under this grant.

This is particularly good since we are facing a budget shortfall this year due to declining sales tax and permits revenue. At last check, we are expecting a $200,000+ shortfall for this fiscal year (2009-10). Any amount we could carve off of that without dipping into reserves would be a very good thing.

See More on this and the rest of the April first session.

April 1st Council Session to be very busy

The April 1st Corinth City Council regular session will be a very busy one: there are 17 items on the agenda at this point, including 4 public hearings. At this time (the packet and agendas are not out) I believe that 3 of the hearings are related to action on the Dobbs Road Realignment. One hearing will be for the request for a drilling permit (with variances) for XTO energy for the the site southwest of the Oakmont/Lake Sharon intersection. Other business will include council review and action on the 2008-09 (last fiscal year) Audit, or Certified Annual Financial Review.

My understanding is that XTO is requesting 10 variances to our ordinances for their drilling permit. Some of the areas are in Tree Loss Mitigation, Salt water disposal, maintenance setbacks, well head to protected use distances, and letter of Credit requirements. All in all I expect a rather lengthy evening.

You can see more information at my Web site

Disc Golf may not be gone

After all the drama of the last several months with the Disc Golf Course in Corinth, and the council vote to reject the course on the hill at community park - we could still wind up with a course in Corinth.

The volunteer that worked on the original course is proposing a course on property west of the soccer/football fields - west of the parking for them as a matter of fact. This time, the request is following the proper procedures: it will be considered at a meeting of the parks commission on March 16, 2010.

I have not seen the plan yet. The area proposed to contain the course appears to usable, and would provide some challenge for the players. It is not as suitable as the original site on the hill, however, it would still be a nice area for a course.

It would still provide a nice amenity for the city. It will be interesting to see what the plan is that is being pitched.

Disc Golf Course decision

We have a decision on the Disc Golf Course on the pavilion hill at Corinth Community Park: the council voted to stop the course.

It was a very difficult decision for me. On the one hand, the volunteers installing the course contacted the city administration, pitched the idea, and received permission from a city official to proceed with the project. Through no fault on their part, the city official did not have the authority to authorize the project. On the other hand, by this point the proper process had been completely ignored, and for my part, I was unable to find a truly compelling desire on the part of residents to complete the park. When I went door to door and spoke to people, almost none even heard of the park and the controversy. While some (less than fifty percent) agreed the park was a good idea and should go ahead, their comments were almost always that "it may be a good idea: I will never use it, but it may be a good idea". In all cases they only wanted the course "if it won't cost the city anything".

Ultimately at the point I had to make a decision for my vote, that cost factor and the lukewarm reception the idea received caused me to vote against the course. The final vote was 4-1 to dismantle the course.

I simply could not be sure that the volunteers would be able to deliver on a "cost free" course for the city. Although the materials had already been purchased, the cost of ongoing maintenance, while not high, was not negligible either. We would have to rely on the volunteers to make it work.

When members of the trails committee expressed that they did not wish to participate in making the trail and the course coexist, it seemed that the only action would be to keep the existing trail and dismantle the course.

Safety could be the deciding factor for Disk Golf in Corinth

At the recent Corinth Trails Committee meeting some information on safety was presented by a resident attending the meeting. Basically, the PDGA guidelines on Disc Golf Course Design discourage building fairways that cross heavily trafficked trails, paths or sidewalks or cross those the same passages blind.

I'll get some of the links up here soon.

At this point, as far as I am concerned, safety is going to be the main issue going forward. We already have a problem in terms of how the project launched without proper input from the Parks and Rec Commission or the Council. As we go through the belated process of public discussion, we will have to sort out the costs and safety issues.

As the course is laid out now, it violates the PDGA principles in that it crosses a well trafficked multiuse trail in several places. I think this has to be addressed to have any chance of going forward. Issues of drainage and erosion control also have to be addressed. I think those are easier to handle, but could be expensive. I can't support adding any significant expense to the city budget to put the course in. We could be forced to spend to correct the problems presented by the de facto course - my gut feel is that will cost less than the design and construction work necessary to bring the course in.

I look forward to seeing the design changes that the Disc Golf volunteers would propose to solve the safety issues.

There is a Parks and Recreation meeting Tuesday February 16th at Corinth City Hall. The disc golf course should be on the agenda.