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Price of trash collection to rise
Published Thursday, April 17, 2008
NATCHEZ — The price of trash collection in Adams County is about to go up.
Wednesday morning the Adams County Board of Supervisors met in executive session to vote on a new garbage collection contract.
Board President Henry Watts said the meeting needed to be conducted in executive session due to possible litigation. County officials only commented after the meeting.
Trash collection will go up by approximately $54 a year starting in June. A five-year contract agreed upon with Preferred Transport, LLC, will raise the cost of trash collection from $8.50 to $13 per month.
But an accidental omission on the county’s part when they advertised for bids could have lowered the amount of the increase, said Supervisor Darryl Grennell, who voted against the contract.
County Administrator Cathy Walker said the advertisement for bids should have included an option that would have allowed pick-up once per week without a standardized trashcan.
Instead the only included options were collection once a week with a standardized can and twice a week with no standardized can.
Walker said the omission was only realized Wednesday morning when the board met with Louis Jones, co-owner if Preferred Transport.
The bid voted on by the board allows for collection twice weekly at a cost of $13 per month.
Even though the ads didn’t not ask for it, Preferred Transport offered the once a week option for $9.50 a month.
But because the board had not fairly advertised the option to other waste management companies, they could not legally accept the low offer from Preferred Transport.
Of the three bids the county received Preferred Transport was the only company to include the once a week sans-can option.
Supervisor Mike Lazarus said had the county voted on an option not listed on the bid the county could have opened itself for possible litigation.
However that’s why Grennell said he suggested all bids be rejected and the project be re-bid.
But Lazarus said had the project been re-bid Preferred Transport could have easily raised the bid since it was already known to be lower than the other bids the county received.
While any option the supervisors voted on would have raised the price of trash collection, Grennell said he voted against the new contract because it seemed excessive.
“I just don’t think it’s something people can afford right now,” he said.
Lazarus said while a price increase was inevitable it was regrettable.
“The price of doing business has gone up,” he said. “I wish we could do it for free.”
Jones said the price of fuel was a contributing factor to the increased cost of collection.
In 2003 when Jones first contracted with the county diesel was .89 cents a gallon.
“Now it’s $4.09,” he said. “The price of fuel affects everything we do.”
Preferred Transport’s contract with the county expires at the end of May, once signed it will be extended for five years.
S.E. “Spanky” Felter said he felt the county was still getting a fair deal.
“People in the city pay $16.80 for their collection,” he said.
While the contract has not yet been finalized, supervisor Lazarus said it needs only to be signed.
Comments
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gas prices effecting us once again and biting us in the .....
Posted by mommyof3 (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
At least they will be collecting the trash twice a week now. When the county went to onc a week the price only dropped $.50 a week.
Posted by priya (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I like the ending of this article about saying the city pays more. well than get our wages like the cities that pay more than maybe we could afford increases, instead of these low wages.
Posted by hawk (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The price of everything is going up and the quality is going down.Example we bought gas at wal mart murphy usa in natchez ms on the 9th of april and it was $3.22 a gallon and we left and made it to the next red light and the vehicle started running crazy and later cut off and would not start back.had it towed to a repair facility to find out we had just filled our tank with water and paid $3.22 a gallon for water wow. Had the vehicle repaired and had the technician save a fuel sample thinking that wal mart murphy usa would take care of the issue.well they did not this cost me a grand to have repaired. so be carefull where you buy. thanks murphy usa for your quality of fuel. now for the trash the services are not worth what we have to pay now. they leave half the trash and they throw your cans around and for this kind of money they are charging they should pick up everything like tires and tree limbs.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Which is why I only get gas at the Shell sation in Vidalia. Wal-Mart is trash throughout.
Posted by msubulldog (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My trashcans are left in the driveway. When I get home I have to get out of my truck and move them out of the way, or drive into my yard around them. On the plus side they do pick on holidays. As for the gas problem the politicians do not feel the pinch because they drive in government vehicles. Thank goodness my employer pays for my gas. But I know a lot of people are spending money on gas to go to work. The rat race is over and the rats have won.
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gas prices??? JMO; Americans are getting just what they deserve because they will not put a stop to their extreme use of the stuff. Most still drive around to see or be seen. My advice, find something to do at home. Turn part of your front yard into a veggie garden and work it. You will reap great results. Find yard activities with the kiddes. There are many and you will reap great results by allowing family activites, therefore bring the family closer together. Anything to keep yourself from buying gas. Use the commodity only when needed. Set aside a "Black-out Pump" day in your comminity and stick with it. Use the good common sense God gave you and you will drive the prices back down where you can live with it. Think people. Stop the wasteful use of this commodity.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 2:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone told me a couple of months ago when the prices started going up at the pump that it will continue because it is because of those that choose to drive big ole pickup trucks but esp Hummers!
Posted by jack (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 5:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ok president watts looks like more for us tax payers when will it stop salaries must go up for us because we cannot continue to pay and pay more gas, electricity now trash come on guys get some good paying jobs in here and give your county employees pay raises how do you expect them to pay these increases
land taxes are also killing us as well as interst th public needs relief
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There ain't no shortage of gas. Or oil. The pumps and wells are open and flowing.
But the value of the dollar has gone down on a commodity which is traded world wide.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My water bill has already gone up from $50 a month to $95, so that means my water bill is going to be over a $100 a month come June. The price of water must have gone up too. Grocery prices are outrageous and gas is rediculously high. Seems like everything is going up around here except the wages! I really don't know what po-folks are gonna do...it must be their way of forcing us to take the mark.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The trash collection in the city is to high also!
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on April 17, 2008 at 9:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
OldGrandDad...right you are...there's no shortage of crude...the shortage is in refining. The capacity just isn't there and the refineries that exist are 30 yrs. old or better and breaking down.
There are plenty reserves that could and would sustain us, until other cleaner sources of energy can be developed, if the tree huggers would get out of the way.
This is not a supply problem....it's a restriction of supply problem.
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