Owosso OKs single trash hauler 4-3; camping ban tabled to spring

Owosso can now hire a single company to pick up the trash and recycling at every one- and two-family home in the city. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 854 on a 4-3 roll call Oct. 5, with Councilmembers Janae L. Fear, Emily S. Olson and Rachel M. Osmer and Mayor Robert J. Teich, Jr. voting yes, and Mayor Pro-Tem Jerome C. Haber and Councilmembers Christopher D. Owens and Carl C. Ludington voting no. The ordinance takes effect Oct. 26.

What the vote did not do is pick a hauler or set a price. The ordinance gives the council the authority to "either by advertising for bids or otherwise" enter an exclusive contract, and says the council "shall set the rates" for residential refuse, garbage and recycling, with rates "proportionate to the necessary costs of the services." Under the new sections, the city could bill residents directly, special assess the properties, or require the contractor to bill households. None of that has happened yet.

City Manager Nathan R. Henne told the council the driver is a state mandate. A 2022 revision to Section 115 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act requires 90% of single-family homes in the city to have access to curbside recycling, and Henne said the city is responsible for providing that by 2028. He said the council has discussed the topic for more than five years and that curbside recycling has long been a goal in the Master Plan. The Current reported that on Aug. 17 the council directed the city attorney to draft exactly this ordinance.

Before the vote, Owens moved to table the amendment until January, supported by Haber. That motion failed 3-4 — Owens, Ludington and Haber in favor; Osmer, Olson, Fear and Teich opposed. Owens had asked whether the question could go on the ballot instead. Teich said putting the item on a ballot would be very complicated and that councilmembers were elected to make these kinds of decisions. Osmer said the city has partnered with the county on the mandate and that the effort has been underway since January 2025.

Residents and haulers lined up on both sides. The owner of Kelly's Refuse said he supported leaving trash service alone and contracting separately for recycling. Chris Spencer of Specialty Salvage asked the council to table the item for more information. Roger Hart of 318 Cass Street said he has had the same hauler for 20 years and doesn't like being told who will pick up his trash. Pat Whitlock of 1513 Hiawatha Drive spoke in favor of curbside recycling, and Dennis Mahoney of 615 N. Water Street said he was disappointed to find Owosso had no recycling when he moved here. After the vote, Kari Krantz said the ordinance does not preclude local haulers from providing recycling.

Apartment buildings, mobile home parks and attached dwellings of more than three units are excluded and must keep making their own arrangements. The ordinance sets civil fines starting at $50 for residents who violate the chapter, and at $500 — rising to $2,500 for a third offense within 90 days — for any company that collects from covered homes in violation of an exclusive contract.

The other public hearing that night ended with no decision. A proposed Sec. 21-10 would have prohibited unauthorized camping and overnight occupation of city property. Nineteen people spoke against it or in favor of establishing a homeless shelter, including county commission chairman Greg Brodeur; one written comment, from Alicia Forkel of 911 S. Ball Street, supported it. Osmer moved to table the amendment until spring, and the council agreed 7-0. Later, Jael Harrington of 515 N. Washington Street said Kalamazoo has an ordinance the city could copy that might let a shelter open this winter; Teich asked staff to look into it, and Henne said he would look into fast-tracking a shelter. Henne said he has been working with Hope Works Mid-Michigan, described what rezoning the Safe Center for a shelter would require — a council vote for spot zoning against staff advice — and said the city is restricted from a funding standpoint.

On the consent agenda, approved 7-0, the council set an Oct. 19 hearing on Special Assessment District No. 2026-102, covering $13,820.24 in unpaid weed-cutting, cleanup and water charges at properties including 1803 W. Stewart St. ($1,538.72) and 800 W. Main St. ($4,001.49), and directed the treasurer to write off $824 in invoices that cannot be liened because of the county tax sale process. The same vote appointed Garret Behar to the Parks and Recreation Commission through June 30, 2028, and named DPW Superintendent Benjamin "Chase" Peiffer the city's Act 51 street administrator.

What happens next: Ordinance 854 takes effect Oct. 26, but no contract, bid schedule or rate has been set, and the minutes do not say when the council will take those steps. The camping ordinance returns in spring; no date was fixed. The council's next regular meeting was Monday, Oct. 19.