Waste Management District Manager Jim Funderburg said hiscompany is preparing for a smooth transition when the city switchesto private garbage pick up services on March 1.

“One of our goals is to not interrupt the service that residentsare receiving now,” Funderburg said Tuesday after aldermen approveda contract with the private garbage pick up service.

The contract calls for continued twice a week garbage pickup.

Funderburg said Waste Management employees had been coordinatingwith current city garbage officials and learning pick up routes. Hesaid garbage pick up days would remain the same for specific areas,although the actual collection time may be different.

“It may be later, it may be earlier, but it will be the sameday,” Funderburg said.

Funderburg said residents will need to have their garbage outfor pick up by 7 a.m. on collection day. He said Waste Managementwill begin advertising as soon as possible to notify customer aboutthe new service.

While crews learn the garbage routes, garbage pick up time couldvary. However, once routes are learned, Funderburg said the onlythings that could slow down services are bad weather, truckproblems or an employee illness.

“Other than that, they run remarkably consistent,” Funderburgsaid.

Regarding days off for holidays, Funderburg said the companytakes very few. He mentioned Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’sas the only days there are no service.

“We’ve found it works out better if we work on through (otherholidays),” Funderburg said.

In other business Tuesday, aldermen approved the sale of anadditional five acres of land in Industrial Park Two west of ofInterstate 55 to Cortez Byrd for a lumber operation he isdeveloping there. The Tuesday sale, at a cost of $6,000 per acre,raises the operation’s total acreage to 15 acres.

“This would not slow them down any in their progress if we goahead and do this,” said Chandler Russ, Brookhaven-Lincoln CountyChamber of Commerce executive vice-president.

Russ said the additional land would allow for the installationof a rail spur to the property. The project has received a stateeconomic development grant to assist with water and sewer and otherneeded infrastructure.

Also Tuesday, aldermen accepted a planning commissionrecommendation to deny a variance that would have allowed aBrookway Boulevard billboard to be moved.

Harold Smith, with Lamar Outdoor Signs, appeared at last night’smeeting to discuss a desire to move the sign, currently nearBrookway Market Basket, west toward Paul Barnett Nissan. The signhas to be moved to accommodate some planned development, hesaid.

However, under the city’s new sign ordinance that was approvedin 2002, billboards cannot be spaced closer than 2000 feet apart.The sign in question is grandfathered, but it could not be put backup if moved because there are two other billboards 1,978 feetapart, said Brookhaven Building Inspector Steve Moreton.

Moreton said billboards on the boulevard were “clutter andeyesores,” and he suggested the board accept the variance denialrecommendation. The board agreed.