The Meridian City Council is considering the lease of several portable surveillance camera trailers as well as ways to improve communication with Waste Pro and residents as efforts to catch up on leaf and lawn debris collections have fallen behind.

In a work session Monday, council members met with Waste Pro representatives to learn more about why the company was having trouble staying on top of its duties.

Councilman George Thomas said leaves in his neighborhood haven’t been picked up in a month, and pick-ups that have occurred are inconsistent. Leaf and debris pickup is included in the city’s contract and is supposed to take place along with regular garbage collection.

“That’s not happening,” Councilwoman Romande Walker said.

Ethan Boatner, operations manager for Waste Pro in Meridian, said the solid waste company has fallen behind but is working diligently to catch up. The company currently has several drivers in training, he said, and plans to work weekends until the backlog is cleared.

“We’re going to try to work every Saturday until we get caught up,” he said.

While staffing is part of the problem, another part is equipment, Boatner said. The company has two leaf machines it uses in Meridian, but one is inoperable after vacuuming up a brick that had been left in a pile of leaves leading to a $4,000 repair.

Thomas said he would like Waste Pro to communicate more with the council and Meridian residents when things like that happen. Residents don’t know a machine is broken, he said. They just know their leaves aren’t being picked up.

Boatner said Waste Pro is working on a video public service announcement that will go a long way in addressing some of the communication issues. The PSA will provide information on how to separate leaves and limbs for pickup, what can and cannot be left out on the curb and other common issues related to garbage service.

Once the video is complete, Boatner said, Waste Pro will share it with the city to help distribute to Meridian residents.

Waste Pro Regional Manager Joey Harris said leaf season is a challenge to both the company’s manpower and logistics, and it is not uncommon for them to fall behind this time of year. However, with new drivers, repaired equipment, weekend routes and other methods, he said, it won’t take long to catch up.

Camera Trailers

The City Council is also considering leasing one or more portable surveillance trailers after hearing Monday from Norman Wilson, who owns and operates local security company CUI Systems.

Wilson said he recently set his trailers up next to Harvest Grill in downtown and out in Marion near Tate’s Fireworks and received a lot of positive feedback from local business owners.

“I got a tremendous response from merchants,” he said.

The trailers themselves are solar powered and run multiple cameras on a boom extending up to 30 feet, Wilson said. The video feed itself uses cellular signals and can be viewed from a smartphone, tablet or computer, he said.

The trailers can easily be towed behind a truck or SUV and can provide quick camera coverage of festivals and events, crime hotspots or wherever else they are needed, Wilson said. Additionally, the camera software can be used to program alerts, he said, which will notify someone when activity is picked up.

The cost to lease the trailers will be $2,800 per month per trailer, Wilson said. That price, he said, is based on a 12-month contract.

Thomas said he believes the council should look further into the potential lease to see if the trailers will benefit the city.

“I think it’s something we need to look at,” he said.