Sunrise’s Alu Charges Colleagues Are In Pocket Of Waste Company

BY BUDDY NEVINS

A Sunrise Commissioner charged Tuesday that two of her colleagues were pushing construction of a garbage dump to favor their friends in the waste industry.

Wishner and Rosen

Alu: Wishner and Rosen are the garbage industry’s friends 

The city code does not allow the dump, which is formally called a garbage transfer station to sort garbage from recyclable material.

Mayor Roger Wishner and Commissioners Don Rosen and Larry Sofield lobbied to hear the proposal publicly over the objections of the staff.

But Commissioner Sheila Alu aimed her fire only at Wishner and Rosen.  She largely ignored Sofield.

 “What you are trying to do is illegal, Alu charged.  “And make sure you (tell residents about) your relationships with (garbage company owners).

“All three of you are friendly with the owner., Alu continued. “Come on, you guys. Don’t think the public is so stupid…Something smells funny in Sunrise.

Turning to Wishner, a former medical waste industry executive, Alu said:

 “You took an oath to uphold the laws of the city of Sunrise and now you are violating it for your friends…You have a personal relationship with this (waste industry) individual as does Mr. Rosen.”

She contended Wishner and Rosen were working against “the best interest of the people of Sunrise….you explain to the taxpayers why you are advocating for a transfer station.”

“I’m not advocating for anything,” Wishner said.

The debate was the beginning of what a non-elected city official predicted would be “the most contentious issue in Sunrise in years.

Green Now is the company that wants to build the transfer station at the northeast corner of NW 109 Avenue and NW 52 Street.

According to material given the city, the owners said the facility would “have the capabilities of processing all types of solid waste.”

Inside an enclosed building, waste from South Florida would be sorted and the recyclable material would be separated. The owner estimated about 75 trailer trucks-a-day full of garbage would travel on Sunrise streets initially.   

But Alu said the station would eventually have “potentially hundreds of trucks.” 

City Attorney Stuart Michelson warned commissioners privately that any garbage facility in Sunrise would violate the city’s contract with All Service Refuse.  He said approval of the project could result in a major law suit which the city would have to defend.

“I have concerns about that, Michelson said.

The three commissioners seemed not to care.

Wishner, Rosen and Sofield voted to move the project ahead and hear a debate on the project on Feb. 23. 

Alu and Commissioner Joey Scuotto voted against the project, citing the staff’s opposition.

“Let’s work on this project,” Wishner crowed after the vote.

And once again I ask the question of  Wishner, Rosen and Sofield:

How will a garbage transfer station benefit Sunrise residents?



24 Responses to “Sunrise’s Alu Charges Colleagues Are In Pocket Of Waste Company”

  1. Garbage is Good says:

    Alu said she is gonna get rid of Wishner and Rosen on the vote by court order! Wow. That is national news!

  2. Revenue says:

    It is simple enough to figure this out. A transfer station in Sunrise stands to make lots of revenue. Anyone that hauls there, Sunrise would get a cut of the fee, franchise, host, tonage, whatever, even though the garbage will not stay there, like in a dump. Rather, it gets sifted there into categories and then gets sent elsewhere.

    That’s why it’s inaccurate to refer to a transfer station as a garbage dump. A transfer station is not a garbage dump. It is a station where garbage is sorted and then hauled out. It is a relatively clean operation.

    Such a thing could be wildly profitable for the city. It will require the approval of All Service. They may be willing to take a cut of those fees in return for giving approval. Why has the city manager there not explained this to Sheila and Joey?

    FROM BUDDY: Commissioner Joey Scuotto called it a dump. They are taking raw garbage, dumping it on the floor and sorting it.
    No one has suggested Sunrise getting a cut. The garbage would come from outside the city. The only thing Sunrise would be giving Green Now is zoning permission to build the garbage transfer station on the land they now own.

  3. Donna Quixote says:

    Must be time for Rubenstein to jump in and start trashing Alu…that’s his schtick. So, all of these garbage trucks are going to be on the streets of Sunrise??? It seems as if 109th & NW 52nd Street is very, very close to Commercial Boulevard…Lauderhill and Tamarac best get involved in this fiasco before it goes too far.

    Oh well, maybe the feds will have a little hiatus since Rothstein pled guilty…maybe time enough to look at Sunrise…oh…they already know about Sunrise

  4. Accusations Hurt says:

    Where is the proof that Rosen and the owner or Green Now have any kind of relationship? Seen posts that they are buddies or Rosen is working for him or this comment after the election — but where is the proof?

    And, who has proof that Wishner and the owner have any kind of relationship? Video?

    Come on, if you got nothing then stop with the unsubstantiated rumors. Doesnt seem like anyone has anything.

  5. Dave R says:

    Transfer stations DO smell year round, some days are unbearable! And, it will probably be built where they want it unless ALL residents make a stink.

  6. Chaz Stevens says:

    Hey Buddy;

    When you have 10 minutes, check out the blog post on the Sedition I wrote about this issue.

    Also, I condensed last night’s meeting into a short video. Start’s off slow, but get’s really out of hand… Must see TV.

    Thanks.

    C

    FROM BUDDY: More good stuff from Chaz. Thanks for posting it. It saved me the effort.

  7. Ace says:

    Let me add another twist to this story. Green Now representatives, Wishner, Rosen have stated that the company owns the land, no so sure. I believe what they have is an option to purchase conditioned upon getting permitting to build this Transfer Station. The property is to small for the amount and types of trucks they plan utilize their facility. That means that the trucks would need to wait along the commercial corridor while other trucks are dumping.

  8. You Will Never Catch Me ... says:

    Ha, there is nothing here. Everyone can go home now. You will never catch me.

  9. Accusations Hurt says:

    9:18: According to a search of Broward County Property Appraiser’s website for green now, turns up this:

    http://www.bcpa.net/RecInfo.asp?URL_Folio=494118070031

    Looks like it is owned by gn

  10. Good for Sunrise? says:

    Revenue: Where did you get that analysis from? Certainly not from anything said at the Commission meetings or written on this topic. So, how is it you are coming to the conclusion that Sunrise the City, as opposed to certain commissioners, would get a cut?

    Moreover, that is illogical. There is no suggestion of any contract between Sunrise and the dump transfer station. In fact, not sure how there could be with the contract that Republic has.

    Buddy is correct from everything discussed in public to date and written on the blogs — this is just a land use issue that would NOT offer any meaningful benefit to the City. Importantly, it is NOT even for Sunrise garbage. THEY ARE HAULING OTHER CITIES GARBAGE in as many as 75 trucks a day hoping to operate 24 hours a day and DUMPING the garbage on the floor with a GOAL of getting it all out each day.

    Something Smells in Sunrise!

  11. Ace says:

    Accusations Hurt,
    Maybe they did close on the property, recently. That means that they are very assured that they will get this deal to construct. They have no use for this property.

    I see that you had no issues with the rest of my comments, Mr. DVM.

  12. Accusations Hurt says:

    Ace: Closed 4/14/08 according to the link I gave you.

    How can you tell there is not enough room on the property? Only 75 garbage trucks or maybe 100 garbage trucks aday — over 24 hour period not that much per hour if allowed to operate 24 hours. And, lots of streets back there for them to park and wait if necessary.

  13. OPG says:

    Accusations, are you out of your mind? Let’s see. 100 trucks a day, 365 days a year = 36,500 trucks IN and 36,500 truck loads out a year? That is a huge amount of road impact and tonnage of OPG (Other Peoples Garbage)coming and out of Sunrise. If you are working in that area, I am sure they will be happy about the sounds of those trucks rolling in and the smells. I just do not understand why this seems ok to anyone.

  14. Just What says:

    Does anybody know what Don Rosen does for a living? I would like to know since I have seen him out at expensive restaurants.

  15. Accusations Hurt says:

    Get off his back. He works for Eveton Consulting and Eveton Safety. Sure, I have heard they have had contracts or got paid by Ace Waste (Feeley’s company), but so what. And, heard that Rosen has said he is a representative of Ace Waste (someone said there is a tape out there of him telling that to an inspector or something). But so what? It isnt Green Now (even if Feeley owns that one too). That couldnt be an issue for anyone to be concerned about becauz they are different companies. Stop playing junior league detective. There is nothing here. As 9:39 said, go home, there is nothing to see.

  16. Smells like crap says:

    Holy $hit – watching the meeting live. The other commish’s look like they want to kill her!!!!!!!

    Corruption in action……….

  17. Accusations Hurt says:

    Accusations Hurt,

    100 trucks a day, they are not seal tight enough to hold all the liquid. That means tons of contaminants going into the ground all over the place if your saying that they have all kinds of places to park and wait.

  18. Accusations Hurt says:

    Typo — 10:49 is not my post.

    10:49: But so what? It is spread out across a wide area. Not like condensed in a stream/canal. Gotta expect some damage from garbage but it will benefit the community because all those drivers will have to stop to eat somewhere. They will need to refuel somewhere. The land is vacant now and not doing any good with nothing on it.

    Besides, what is the sense of getting elected if you cant help your friends make a few bucks? Not like you are making the money. Sure, maybe they will remember you when you need a campaign contribution or when you move out of politics. But, stop the whining and let them do what they want.

  19. Politicians are MY friends says:

    You all act as if there is some witch-hunt on politicians. They are ALL good people. They NEVER do something for their own advantage or profit. Ask? Uhmmm? Oh yea, Gallagher … and all the others the Feds have in shackles (or soon to be in shackles)

  20. Resident says:

    What I saw in the meeting was a very badly run meeting. The Commissioners could care less about who was to talk, and it seems they were discussing if they were to discuss. How confusing.

    The Mayor had no control on the meeting, and what’s worse, he forgot that it was his job to run it. He was actually contributing to how badly the matter was being handled.

    A complete lack of respect shared by all. They really needed another person to do the Mayors job in running the meeting.

  21. Accusations Hurt says:

    Resident: Give me a break. Not easy to run a meeting when you have staff saying a use isnt permitted, and you cant seem how to figure out to get the matter voted on by the other two commish’s who will help you, and when you got 2 other commish’s holding your feet to the fire and trying to close every trap door. Like, he says, we dont even know what the project is so lets put on agenda (Darn, commish #1 says, “BS, you got a whole package there that we got 10 times, how can say you dont know what it is?’). Or, you are saying lets see what staff has to say (Darn, Commish #1 says “hey, everybody in this room has met with staff or the owner or both”). Or, you carefully get it on the agenda at last minute to be heard late at night, finally get empty chamber, get it on to just have city attorny report (which everyone had already heard in private), and you are tyring to get the whole thing put on the agenda (Darn, “Commish #2, “what are you doing, trying to help friends you drink with and play golf?”).

    So, not an easy job trying to sneak something on the agenda to help friends. If you think you can do a better job, run for mayor. Otherwise, pipe down and you get what you deserve!

  22. Revenue says:

    If there are not going to be fees for the City to collect, which I believe inevitably there will be, then there is something seriously wrong with the proposal. Of course there will be fees collected by Sunrise. It is too transparent not to mention pointless otherwise.

  23. NOrevenuetocity says:

    There are NO meaningful fees to the City. This is nothing more than a private landowner seeking to put a big money producing stinky business on a piece of land. There is garbage contract and no other fees other than what a city would get from any other business (building permits, etc).

  24. Sunrise’s Rosen Works For Garbage Dump Man : BrowardBeat.com says:

    […] Michelson letter, obtained by Browardbeat.com, confirmed a charge Commissioner Sheila Alu made at the recent commission meeting.  She said Rosen and Mayor Roger […]