May 19, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins City Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Rawlins, the Mayor responded to public criticism over the City’s handling of the trash haulers license issued to Dirty Boyz.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Terry Weickum presented an agenda item he said was in response to a citizen’s request. Mayor Weickum said he put together a presentation with a series of audio clips and slides.
The first sound file Mayor Weickum played was an excerpt from the previous City Council meeting on May 2nd. In the audio clip, Dirty Boyz Sanitation General Manager of Operations Patrick Gonzales demanded the city council apologize to Councilwoman Tonya Lewman. Councilwoman Lewman accepted an illegal corporate donation from Dirty Boyz during her 2022 general election campaign. Accepting the contribution was a violation of city ordinance. Gonzales said the council prevented Lewman from taking the oath of office and threatened her with legal action.
The Mayor’s presentation then cut to a speech Councilwoman Lewman gave at the January 3rd City Council meeting. In the audio clip, Lewman admits she accepted a check from Dirty Boyz Sanitation, but says she thought it was a personal donation from Rose Cain, who owns the company.
Lewman said she returned the check after discovering it wasn’t from Cain herself but was written on Dirty Boyz company account. Lewman did not disclose when she learned that the contribution was illegal or when she returned it. When confronted with the illegal contribution, Lewman said she was warned not to take her place on the council.
In her January 3rd speech, Councilwoman Lewman said she ran for City Council because city workers have allegedly been treated with disrespect but gave no facts. She said the sitting council was abusive, fatigued, and ineffectual.
Mayor Weickum’s recording then transitioned to Dirty Boyz employee Gonzales at the May 2nd Council meeting when he demanded that the Council apologize to Rose Cain of Dirty Boyz. Gonzales accused the council members of saying the trash hauler owed the city $160,000 in unpaid tipping fees.
The dispute between the City and Dirty Boys stemmed from an ordinance stating that all garbage must be taken to the City’s Landfill. A tipping fee to cover the cost of constructing and maintaining the landfill is borne by trash haulers through the fee. Starting in October of last year, the City noticed that Dirty Boyz brought in significantly less garbage and paid nearly no tipping fees.
Next, in his presentation, Mayor Weickum played a clip from Bruce Leven, the Wyoming Waste Systems Operations Manager. Leven asked the City Council if he would receive a refund for the tipping fees his company has paid. Leven said three months of tipping fees totaled $160,000.
Mayor Weickum finished with his audio clips. Afterward, the Mayor explained why he played Leven’s sound excerpt. Mayor Weickum said the City Council was not the source of the $160,000 tipping fee claim.
Mayor Weickum said the City’s flow control ordinance dictates that all trash haulers must take their garbage to the City’s Landfill. Referring to an October 14th letter the City sent to Dirty Boyz, the Mayor said it was clear the trash hauler was not adhering to the flow control ordinance.
Mayor Weickum said the City received a response from Dirty Boyz on October 24th. In the letter, it is stated that Dirty Boyz considers the City’s garbage to be a valuable commodity and not, in its opinion, trash. The letter continued by saying that Dirty Boyz would take the waste to a landfill in Colorado. Mayor Weickum said the City was required to revoke the garbage hauler’s license.
Mayor Weickum said the City noticed a substantial decrease in the amount of garbage Dirty Boyz was bringing to the landfill when compared to the City’s other trash hauler, Wyoming Waste Systems. Mayor Weickum said the City had to act.
Mayor Weickum then played the May 2nd audio clip of Gonzales accusing Councilman Chris Weisenburg of threatening him. During the City Council meeting, Gonzales handed out copies of a sheriff’s report on the incident. The report says that City Engineer Austin Gilbert overheard Councilman Weisenburg make an offhanded comment to the Mayor about harming Gonzales. Gilbert jokingly informed then City Manager Sean Metcalf about the comment. Metcalf brought it to the attention of Councilman Darril Garner who told his mother, and owner of Dirty Boyz Sanitation, Rose Cain. Cain then told Gonzales and he brought it to the attention of the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. Mayor Weickum said the report exonerates him and Councilman Weisenburg.
With that, Mayor Weickum asked for questions or comments. Hearing none, the Mayor moved on to the next item on the agenda.
