The Board of Aldermen here is giving residents more time to comment on Allied Waste Service's proposed contract for trash service.
At its meeting Monday night, the Holts Summit Board of Aldermen tabled Bill No. 2014-057, which would approve signing Allied's proposed contract.
Holts Summit has used Allied since the 1990s. The city reached out to Allied for potential solutions to a trash and illegal dumping problem in the city. Mayor Lucas Fitzpatrick said the city has a problem with debris and litter. At Monday's meeting, a few city residents spoke negatively about Allied's proposal and asked questions about aspects of it.
Resident Kurt Hilsenbeck said he takes care of his trash and shouldn't be required to pay for a trash cart because other residents do not.
"I am my own trash service," Hilsenbeck said.
City Administrator Brian Crane said Holts Summit has had problems with illegal trash dumping because not every residence is required to have a trash cart. He said the proposed changes to the trash service would make Holts Summit's trash program more similar to trash pickup in surrounding communities.
"This is a way for the city to take over the billing, require carts - like most other towns around us - and keep the rates the same for the customers," Crane said prior to Monday's meeting.
In an effort to address Holts Summit's trash concerns, Allied drafted a new contract that would change the services it provides for the city. The company's proposal would add an optional recycling service and require a five-year-contract renewal with Allied.
More specifically, Allied Waste Service's proposed contract includes:
•City billing.
•Mandatory residential trash service.
•95-gallon cart for residential service.
•$3.25 per-home cost for recycling (cost is dependent on 600 participants in recycling program).
•$11.20 for residential service (city will match current billed cost).
•No fuel surcharge fee.
•Three percent annual price increase for customers.
Hilsenbeck described the proposed contract as "money for nothing." He said he would like to keep taking care of his own trash because he can do so with little cost. Fitzpatrick asked Hilsenbeck if he would be willing to volunteer to pick up trash in Holts Summit if the city does not sign Allied's proposal. Hilsenbeck said he would not pick up trash that wasn't his without compensation. Fitzpatrick said he did not mean to be rhetorical or disrespectful with his question. He said the city needs to come up with a solution to its trash problem.
Fitzpatrick said the comments from Monday's meeting are the first feedback he has heard regarding the proposal.
"This is an idea," Fitzpatrick said. "Up until this evening we had no comments whatsoever."
City Attorney Kent Brown said the ultimate question is not whether they should accept or deny Allied's proposal. The ultimate question, Brown said, is what the city should do about trash and litter.
The city will continue to seek public input on the proposed contract and the city's larger trash issue. If someone was unable to attend the city's public hearing, Crane said they can send in written comments regarding the proposal.
Megan Favignano can be reached at (573) 826-2417 or [email protected].