To the editor,
I have lived on Elm Street for 12 years. For 11 of those years, I put my trash can out on Monday morning before work, and it was empty by the time I got home. That is the quiet dignity of municipal services — you notice them only when they stop working.
They have stopped working.
In the past six weeks, my pickup has been missed three times. Not delayed — missed. I called the town office after the second miss and was told that the contractor was short a driver and that my street would be prioritized the following week. It was not. On the third miss, I brought my trash to the transfer station myself, which is not something I should have to do when I pay $28 a month for curbside service.
I know this is not the most urgent problem the town faces. Nobody is in danger because their recycling did not get picked up. But a town that cannot reliably collect its own garbage is a town whose basic contract management is slipping. If the selectmen do not know — or will not say — what is going on with the collection contract, then perhaps it is time to put it out for bid again.
I would appreciate an explanation, and a solution, before the weather turns hot.
Sincerely,
Ms. Dorothy Bouchard 7 Elm Street Willow Creek