Gray City Council members held a called meeting last week to fund a real estate purchase and talked about garbage before the meeting ended. The Aug. 26 meeting was called to order by Mayor Ed Barbee with four of the city’s five council members in attendance. Councilman Benny Gray was absent.
The issue of rates for garbage collection was the last agenda item. Waste Management Public Sector Manager Steve Edwards was at Friday morning’s meeting to represent the company. Waste Management sent a letter to the city dated June 29, stating that the current rate charged customers had the company upside down.
The letter stated reasons of the labor shortage, inflation, fuel, supply line delays and the cost of plastics in the cause of the rising cost.
The bottom line was an increase from $10.55 per month for garbage collection to $17.07.
Councilman David Tufts said the city’s contract expires at the end of the year.
“We have to be prepared to renew or look for another company,” he said.
Councilman Terry Favors asked if the city could put the service out for bid. Tufts said the last time the city did that, the smaller company was bought out.
Edwards said even with the increase, Waste Management’s rates were the lowest around, and $17 was a fair rate.
He said it was not a good time to bid out the service and suggested the city wait until the labor market, fuel prices and inflation recovers.
The letter from the company made the same argument and offered to continue garbage pickup on a year-to-year basis, with the increase, until the time was right to put the service out for bid.
City Clerk Cindy Yancey stated that the scope of work listed on the rate proposal included services the city did not receive. Edwards agreed the scope of work would make a difference.
The manager went on to talk about changes in the industry including using an automated truck with one man on the back, opposed to the two-man trucks currently used for city collections.
“The one-arm bandits are more efficient,” Edwards said.
He added that customer education comes with the change.
City Attorney John Newberry asked Edwards to come back to the council with an updated rate schedule, and he agreed.
The meeting began with four resolutions, two of which pertained to the purchase of the property in front of City Hall. The resolutions included an intergovernmental agreement with the Gray Downtown Development Authority to handle the purchase and an appropriations resolution to move the funds.
Council members approved a quitclaim deed for an abandoned street, and the final resolution was to move funds to pay for a crosswalk near the courthouse.
The next regularly scheduled meeting for the City Council is Sept.
12, due to the Labor Day holiday.
