OPAL — The Town Hall building in Opal saw a busier than usual morning last week on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Judge J. Michael Lamp conducted the bench trial for the Town of Opal v. Ellie Bienz and Tracie Clayton. Witnesses were called to testify, and a ruling was made after more than three hours of proceedings.

The case of trash in the town of Opal is an ongoing and complicated one. Defendant Ellie Bienz and her husband, Lee, have been residents of the town for 19 years.

“I feel like I have been targeted,” Ellie said. “When the judge said we have a clean town, that was false.”   

Bienz is speaking of the town’s failure to enforce the removal of junk cars and trucks from properties.

“Unlicensed and abandoned vehicles are accumulating on residential properties,” she said. “It looks like a junkyard, and the town does nothing about it. Instead, they pick on us about how often I take my trash to the landfill.” 

Mary Hall, past mayor of Opal and current council member, is married to Shane Hall, owner of Reliable Refuse. Hall said Reliable Refuse has provided service to Opal for 19 years and has never missed a pickup. Diamondville Prosecuting Attorney Thayne Peterson and defense attorney Clark Stith met before the trial took place. Unable to reach a resolution, the proceeding began with Stith’s opening comments.

“Our defenses are somewhat different today,” Stith, a Rock Springs attorney, said. “We assert the town ordinance was not properly adopted.”

Stith then asked the court if he could replay a recording of a town hall meeting from Nov. 9, 2022.

Peterson countered that there was no ambiguity in the adoption of the ordinance and said he was surprised by the request to listen to the November audio.

Ordinance 2022-004, which the attorneys referred to, states that any resident who opts out of the city trash service must remove household refuse on a weekly basis at their own expense. Homeowners must provide proof (in the form of receipts) once a month to Town Hall, and failure to do so is considered a violation of the ordinance.

The recording was played and after debate between the attorneys, Judge Lamp ruled the motion was properly passed for the ordinance. Peterson followed by saying the defendants were asked to provide proof of receipts.

“This is as simple a case as can be,” he said.

Stith countered that the town made a motion to discuss adoption of the ordinance but did not properly do so. He also said his clients did dispose of their trash and have receipts for proof.

Opal Town Treasurer and Clerk Laura Gerber testified first. Gerber gave a list of her duties as clerk and said, “I accept applications to opt out of trash services.”

Peterson then gave Gerber a copy of the opt-out applications from Bienz and Clayton. She identified the documents and said, “I have not received anything that said the defendants complied with the trash service.”

Stith then approached Gerber on the witness stand, handing her a copy of the town council meeting minutes from Nov. 9, 2022. He asked the witness if she had any reason to believe the document was amended. A brief recess of court was issued so the town clerk could obtain copies of the documents from the meeting.

Upon returning the court observed back and forth between the lawyers. Peterson commented that the town passed the ordinance correctly and Stith said there was never evidence for proof of trash removal. A brief pause in the court was followed by the judge’s decision.

“I have listened to both arguments and believe the town made the effort and followed through,” Lamp said.

Next on the witness stand was Opal Mayor Anthony Ritzdorf, who had the tie breaking vote in the Nov. 9 meeting to pass the ordinance. The mayor’s wife, Maxine Ritzdorf, also serves on the council and voted against the ordinance.

Former council member Stephen Palano also voted to pass the ordinance while he served on the council. During his testimony, he said that requiring weekly trips to the landfill should be eliminated because it was excessive, especially for those that do not have that much trash.

Council member Daniel Whiteford Jr. voted in favor of the ordinance. During his testimony to the court he said, “My understanding was we were updating the opt-out form.” He said he was not aware of any trash accumulation complaints against the defendants.

Bienz was given the option to speak on the witness stand. During her testimony she said, “We have been working on this opt-out because there are families here with only two people and having monthly garbage collection is cumbersome. We have never had any complaints, and our property is one of the most well-maintained properties in town.”

As the trial drew to a close, Judge Lamp allowed closing remarks from the attorneys. Stith concluded that his clients had not violated any criminal law and requiring them to provide weekly receipts from the landfill was not practical or reasonable.

Peterson concluded by saying the ordinance was reasonable and that all elements of the case had been found.

Judge Lamp gave the verdict, saying both parties presented great arguments.

“It is about individual rights and being fairly treated,” he said.

Lamp said that, after reviewing the information, he believed the ordinance to be in the best interest of the town and requiring receipts to be appropriate.

“The town is making sure it is a clean and respectable town,” he said. “The defendants violated the ordinance by not providing receipts.” 

The sentencing was negotiated to be a fine of $210 per defendant and $600 to pay for prosecution fees. The defendants have three months to pay the fines and will be required to provide weekly receipts every month to the town. It was declared that when those who opt out of trash service are out of town, they must inform the council members in order to be exempt from showing receipts during that time.

After the trial, Bienz said she is disappointed about the verdict but will keep fighting for what she feels is fair.

“My husband and I are patriotic people,” she said. “I am carrying through with this lawsuit because I think it will benefit the town.”

Bienz said she does not feel the city council members have the best interest in citizens’ rights.

“If things were fair here, they would enforce the abandoned vehicle ordinance,” she said. “But that ordinance does not serve the personal agenda of those in positions of power. It feels like living in a dictatorship and they are trying to break us.”

Bienz said it feels like a personal attack every time she goes to a town meeting.

“The town code enforcer benefits from the junk car ordinance not being enforced,” she said. “He is the worst offender of that ordinance.”