Upgrades At Dumps May Take A Year

Solid-Waste Fee To Rise in Calvert

Improvements slated for the congested Mount Hope and Lusby trash convenience centers in Calvert County might not be completed for a year, and the cost will result in increases to the solid-waste fee on residents' tax bills.

County commissioners directed county staff Tuesday to move ahead with design work on the centers, where residents take solid waste and recyclables. The design contracts could be awarded in the next two weeks, but it might take nine months to a year for work to be completed.

Lusby's trash collection site is in the town center near several shopping centers. Cars are "six to eight deep" to get into the site each morning, said Commissioner Gerald W. Clark (R-Lusby). That collection center will be moved to a more convenient area off the new Southern Connector road to help reduce traffic congestion. It also will feature better access for dumpster trucks, which often hold up traffic as they switch dumpsters.

Dumpster loading and unloading causes cars to stack at Mount Hope as well. "That line goes all the way out Pushaw Station Road," said Commissioner Barbara A. Stinnett (D-At large).

The county plans to use the existing Mount Hope site but will reconfigure it to improve accessibility, said Barry King, the county's utilities bureau chief.

Joan Thorp, the county's accounting supervisor in the finance and budget office, estimated that the improvements would mean a $10 to $13 increase over three years in the solid-waste fee residents pay. The current fee is $107 a year, she said.