After weeks of hemming and hawing, Alamance County’s commissioners have tentatively agreed to retain the two waste haulers that presently provide curbside trash and recycling services outside the county’s cities and towns.
In the first of two “readings” on Monday, the board of commissioners voted 4-to-0 to renew franchise agreements with Republic Services and Waste Industries – the latter of which does business in Alamance County as GFL, or Green for Life.
Under these deals, Republic will have the nearly exclusive right to serve two zones that comprise the county’s eastern and northwestern reaches. GFL, meanwhile, will have a corner on a third, more southerly zone. Both companies will retain these service areas for up to five years – during the first two of which, the monthly fees that Republic can charge will be limited to $22.00 for trash pickup and $9.50 for recycling, whereas GFL’s rates will be held to $20.95 and $11.55 for the same services.
The commissioners ultimately awarded GFL and Republic these zones based on the recommendations of county staff members who had evaluated these incumbent waste haulers against five competing firms. In each case, the staff members considered factors ranging from a company’s service record to its resources in equipment and manpower in these assessments.
But in the end, the staff’s endorsements hinged on each bidder’s combined rates for garbage and recycling pickup. In Zone 3, this number proved to be GFL’s quote of $32.50, while Republic nabbed Zones 1 and 2 with a combined sum of $31.50. In both cases, the two incumbent waste haulers only bid on the areas they currently serve.
The inexorable pull of these low bids was summed up by commissioner Sam Powell before he reluctantly seconded the motion to renew the franchise agreements with GFL and Republic.
“I think we have some good firms wanting to provide this service,” Powell told the rest of the board before Monday night’s vote, “and I’d like to see all of the firms get a portion of that…But I think what we want to have is a contract that is economic . . . and maybe we need to take the staff recommendation.”
Opting out is now in
The agreements that the commissioners accepted on Monday will still need to be finalized in a “second reading” that’s scheduled to take place on November 2. Once that hurdle is cleared, the two incumbent waste haulers will have until January 1 to meet the terms of their new county-issued franchises.
Unlike the existing franchise agreements, the new arrangements contain additional customer service requirements and penalties for missed pickups that neither GFL nor Republic has previously had to confront. The new agreements also guarantee lower monthly fees than those that both companies presently charge their rural customers. According to the county’s solid waste department, the combined reductions for both trash and recycling will amount to $7.18 a month for Republic’s customers and $5.09 a month for each household that GFL serves.
The two firms will also have to contend with a new “opt out” clause that the commissioners have inserted into the county’s solid waste ordinance as a courtesy to residents who are persistently dissatisfied with their franchised waste hauler.
The commissioners originally approved this provision earlier this month by a margin of 4-to-1, and they formally adopted it, on second reading, in a 3-to-1 decision on Monday. (In both cases, the dissenting vote had been cast by commissioner Pam Thompson).
The new language approved by the board’s majority allows rural households to petition county staff for a “hardship exemption” from their local waste disposal franchises. The basis for this hardship can be a disability, a credible issue with harassment or safety, or the waste hauler’s poor service – although this third cause of action requires no fewer than three complaints that the franchise holder is unable, or unwilling, to rectify.
The county’s solid waste staff will have the discretion to accept or reject all hardship claims. If the claim is accepted, the staff will assign another county-approved waste hauler to serve the rural customer – at a rate that is no less than the franchise waste hauler in that particular zone.
Not down for the count…
The fact that GFL and Republic had defeated all other comers on price would’ve seemed to consign the hopes of the five other bidders to the proverbial wastebin. Yet, several of the runners up were on hand to press their claims when the commissioners first took up the proposed franchise agreements in September, and none have been more relentless in their appeals than Charlotte-based Meridian Waste.
Meridian originally made its debut in Alamance County three years ago when it acquired an existing landfill for construction and demolition debris that had been operating in the southern part of the county. The company went on to obtain the county’s permission to expand this facility as well as the size of the area from which it trucks in debris. Although the commissioners initially approved these changes in a narrow 3-2 decision, the company’s subsequent track record seems to have done much to win over the current members of the county’s governing board.
Meridian had hoped to parlay the success of its landfill into a rural waste collection franchise – only to fall short in its bidding war with GFL and Republic. Meridian’s representatives nevertheless showed up in full force when the proposed franchise agreements came before the commissioners on September 21, and they pledged to make up for their disadvantage on price with brand new equipment, first-class customer service, and greater integration with the community.
Meridian’s representatives went on to reiterate their claims when the commissioners convened earlier this month, and on Monday, they returned yet again with a stable of well wishers to advance their case for a franchise.
During a designated public comment period that evening, the commissioners heard praise for Meridian’s customer service from Chris Ewing, a commercial construction superintendent who patronizes the company’s landfill in Alamance County. They also heard about the company’s community outreach from Cressa Jackson, a young mother who used to live near this facility. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens, a field training organizer for the Green Berets, touted the “generosity and patriotism” that Meridian has shown in its support for the U.S. Army’s Special Forces.
The commissioners even heard a few words from Kent Coble, who had previously operated the construction waste dump that Meridian went on to buy and expand.
“I hit a home run when I sold that landfill to Meridian,” Coble told the commissioners. “It’s amazing what they have done.”
Monday’s public comment period also drew some remarks from another unrequited waste hauler who had competed for the county’s business.
Tim Heyman, a consultant for Anchor Disposal, complained about the particulars of the review process that had found his client on the losing end of this seven-way competition.
Heyman contrasted Alamance County’s procedures unfavorably with Forsyth County, which he said awards its franchises based solely on the cost of curbside garbage collection. He added that the high value which Alamance County puts on recycling is undermined by the fact that only 27 percent of the rural households served by a franchise waste hauler opt for this service.
“You go with that deal,” he added, “73 percent of your residents are going to pay more.”
Incumbent advantage
The county’s incumbent trash haulers weren’t exactly without their defenders during Monday’s public comment period.
Among those who approached the podium that evening was Shane Walker of Republic Services, who emphasized his company’s 22-year-long history of collecting trash and recycling in Alamance County.
“We’ve treated this partnership as an ongoing job interview,” he told the commissioners. “We have consistently operated at a high level for the county and its residents…our proposal offered the lowest price, and our 22-year record of service speaks to our reliability.”
Meanwhile, Norma Yanez of GFL warned the county’s governing board that a competing waste hauler would face an insurmountable challenge if it tried to take over one of the three service areas by the county’s January 1 deadline.
“We only bid on our current franchise area,” Yanez went on to add. “We didn’t want to take a chance on our reputation for franchise transition. Nor did we want the liability for all the new penalties in the new franchise agreement, and there will surely be issues and surely be penalties if these franchises are awarded to anyone else.”
The commissioners also heard testimonials from some satisfied customers of the two incumbent waste haulers.
Henry Vines, a one-time candidate for the board of commissioners, said he has been pleased with service he has received from both of the companies.
“I see no reason to change contracts when we have good, reliable people in place,” he added. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“I’ve used Republic for 12, or13 years,” concurred area resident Jeff Yusiewicz, “and they do a pretty good job. When there’s a problem, I call, and they pick up the phone.”
Done and dusted
When all was said and done, these competing claims and contrary contentions left some of the commissioners unsure just how to proceed with the proposed franchise agreements.
“[We’ve heard] a lot of interesting information on trash,” declared Steve Carter, the vice chairman of Alamance County’s commissioners. “Some of this information I just got this afternoon…and I think it begs for taking a hard look at how we do these contracts the next time they come up for renewal.”
In the meantime, Alamance County’s attorney Rik Stevens urged the commissioners to reach a decision that night in order to give the franchise recipients enough time to mobilize their operations by January 1.
“There’s going to be a pretty healthy ramp-up requirement,” he added, “particularly for any new providers… So, I would urge the board to consider adopting some kind of franchise tonight as the first reading.”
On that note, commissioner Pam Thompson made a motion to approve the staff’s recommendations in favor of GFL and Republic. After much handwringing, Powell offered a hesitant second, and the motion passed by a margin of 4-to-0. The two franchise agreements must now come back before the commissioners for a second vote of approval on November 2.
Commissioner Ed Priola was absent from Monday’s proceedings.
