The Town of Highlands is asking all residents to make the transition to a bear-resistant garbage can by Aug. 1, but after discussion by the town board of commissioners that deadline is no longer definite.
At the advisement of mayor Patrick Taylor, the board decided to hold off penalizing property owners who do not have a bear-resistant trash can by Saturday.
“In talking with the folks at Reeves Ace Hardware, they have a waiting list of close to 80 people who have ordered the cans but not yet received them,” Taylor said. “When we decided to go to the bear-resistant toters we set Aug. 1 as the deadline, and that is what we have been saying for some time. But I think we may need to adjust the timeline.”
Taylor suggested that the town continue to remind citizens that they must switch to the bear-resistant cans as soon as possible, but not begin enforcement of the ordinance until the beginning of 2021.
Commissioner Amy Patterson agreed with continuing the public outreach regarding the transition to bear-resistant cans, but advocated for a shorter window of compliance.
“I don’t think we have to set a hard date for when we are going to begin enforcement,” Patterson said. “If the backlog of people waiting to receive their bear-resistant cans clears up in a month we don’t want to be sitting on our hands for three or four months until the first of the year. We can keep in contact with the people at Reeves and other retailers to see what their waiting list looks like, and once it’s clear we can begin enforcement.”
The board gave consensus for the public works department to begin enforcement by placing notices on non-compliant garbage cans after the backlog of bear-resistant can orders is remedied, without designating a specific date.
Taylor noted that since the town made the change to bear-resistant cans in the commercial district the bear problem has improved.
“We have not seen as many bear interactions this summer in our business district, and that’s a positive for both the public and the bears,” Taylor said. “The new toters are having a positive impact.”
Taylor added that switching to bear-resistant garbage cans will also have a positive effect on the health and safety of town employees. The new cans feature a metal lift bar that can by lifted by an arm on the garbage truck and emptied, while traditional cans have to be lifted and dumped by hand.
“I followed our crew one day, just to see, and the guys on the garbage truck lifted almost 600 cans by hand,” Taylor said. “That is a lot of physical labor and a lot of stress on their legs, joints, back, etc. The new cans will save them a lot of wear and tear on their bodies.”
Along with overseeing the transition to bear-resistant garbage cans, Highlands’ BEAR Wise task force is also in the process of creating an ordinance that would make intentionally feeding bears illegal.
“We are in the early stages of that process, working with the town attorney, to develop an ordinance that is worded properly and is also enforceable,” Taylor said. “Feeding bears, and trying to lure them into residential areas, is a matter of public safety. We simply can’t have that going on in town.”
Taylor noted that once the bear feeding ordinance is ready it will be brought before the board of commissioners for discussion and approval.