City waste contract out for bids

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October 26, 2008

Officials worry landfill costs may rise

By SCOTT SMITH The Kokomo Tribune Sun Oct 26, 2008, 10:05 PM EDT

One of the city’s most mundane tasks provided high drama the last time it was up for discussion, and almost five years later, it’s up for discussion again.

Bids on the city’s next three-year trash contract are due Nov. 12, and city administration officials are wondering if they’ll see another showdown between the area’s major waste haulers, Wabash Valley and Waste Management.

The city is in the final year of its current contract with Wabash-based Wabash Valley, and administration spokesman Dave Galvin said city officials are concerned the city’s trash disposal costs may go up.

Wabash Valley won the 2006-2008 contract by agreeing to dispose of the city’s trash for $35.25 per ton when the contract was awarded in 2003.

The contract marked Wabash Valley’s entry into Kokomo, and came at the cost of allowing the company to build a waste transfer station on North Dixon Road, north of the Kokomo Speedway.

The transfer station was opposed by a group of northsiders, but the company prevailed in court and built the facility. In the years since, the transfer station has generated few complaints.

For seven years prior to Wabash Valley winning the trash contract, Waste Management hauled the city’s trash. In 2003, the year the current contract was awarded, Waste Management was charging $43.50 a ton.

Now city officials are worried that price could shoot upwards of $46 a ton, even if more than one firm bids for the contract, Galvin said.

However, city officials will also ask for an “out-clause” to be added to the contract for the first time, something Galvin said is standard for waste hauling contracts in many cities.

“It’s so we can keep our doors open for alternative means of trash disposal and destruction,” Galvin said.

“Tipping fees have gone up, and because we want to make sure we spend tax dollars as wisely as possible, the ‘early out’ is just a safety thing.”

Last year, the city spent more than $700,000 on tipping fees alone. The fees are collected by area landfills for each trash truckload dumped.

Galvin said he’s hoping the Howard County Recycling District will work to increase the amount of trash currently being recycled. The district’s budget has been increased for 2009 to accommodate a large promotions budget, among other items.

City officials have also held off purchasing two trash packer trucks budgeted for 2008.

City trash trucks pick up trash at the curbside and take it to Wabash Valley’s transfer station. Wabash Valley then trucks the trash to the landfill.

The Kokomo Board of Public Works & Safety had originally planned to purchase the trash packers early this month.

But city officials have since considered purchasing trash packers with two separate compartments, one for regular trash and another for recyclables.

If the city goes that route, it would be a step toward the resumption of curbside recycling collections, which the city ended under former Mayor Jim Trobaugh. Bids received in 1999 would have raised the cost of the program by 31 percent over the previous contract.

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