Benld residents will continue to have their trash picked up weekly by Republic Sanitation Services but the price will increase slightly as of April 1 following action taken Monday night during a brief special meeting of the council.
The city’s current contract with Republic is set to expire March 31.
Mayor Jim Kelly opened bids during February’s regular monthly meeting of the council but referred the issue to committee with an eye toward making a decision during a special meeting. Bids were received from Republic, Community Sanitation of Medora, DC Waste and Recycling, Inc. of Hillsboro, and SPS Waste of Staunton. After analyzing the bids, however, Kelly said Monday night that only Republic and DC Waste met the parameters of the bidding specifications.
Representatives of both companies attended the meeting.
Council members voted unanimously to accept Ald. John Balzraine’s motion to award the contract to Republic with a provision that Republic agrees to a five-year contract in lieu of a three-year contract.
Republic will continue to pick up waste on a weekly basis and will continue to pick up recyclable materials as well.
Corrie Ward of Republic told the council the company does not earn “surplus” cash from recycling in response to a question from Ald. John Tilashalki. She affirmed that Republic does get paid for recyclable materials but that the amount the company collects basically is enough to cover the cost of offering the service.
Residents who have regular service with a 95-gallon receptacle will see their cost increase from $15.50 a month to $17.79; seniors with the same level of service will see their cost increase from $13.17 to $15.72. Persons with a 65-gallon receptacle will see their monthly bill increase from $13 per month to $17.79, the same as the 95-gallon service, while seniors using a 65-gallon receptacle will see their cost increase from$11.05 to $15.72, also the same as the 95-gallon service. There is no extra fee for persons who also participate in the recycling program. The cost for an extra cart will remain at $5 per month across the board.
DC’s base prices on a five-year contract were slightly lower than Republic’s but did not include an extra $11.01 for recycling services. DC’s charge for extra carts also was nearly double that of Republics.
Benld is one of the few municipalities in the area that contracts with a single vendor to provide city-wide trash pick-up services, adding the cost of trash pick-up to monthly water bills. Apart from limiting the number of heavy waste hauling trucks using, and possibly damaging, city streets and alleys, the program ensures that all city residences have regular trash pick-up. Further, the bidding process ensures residents have trash pick-up at a lower price than most surrounding communities.
The price increases going into effect on April 1 are the first for Benld residents in five years.