Chesterton Tribune

Garbage bids are in, cost to town to rise dramatically

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By KEVIN NEVERS

No matter what firm is awarded the next three-year refuse and recycling contract in the Town of Chesterton, the average cost per household per month over the life of that contract is going to rise dramatically.

At its meeting Monday night, the Town Council voted 4-0 to take the bids under advisement. Member Sharon Darnell, D-4th, was not in attendance.

Two firms submitted bids—Waste Management (WM) of Portage and Able Disposal (AD) of Chesterton—under three separate sets of specs:

•A base bid, under which refuse and recycling service would remain the same: residents would provide their own trash cans—with an option to rent a 95-gallon roll container—while the town would provide a recycling bin.

•A first alternate bid, under which each household would receive a 95-gallon roll container for trash and a second one for recycling, and recycling collection would be cut to twice a month with the idea of saving the winning bidder fuel expense and encouraging that bidder to pass the savings on to the town. Under this alternate bid, the cost of the roll containers would be included in the contract price.

•A second alternate bid, under which each household would provide its own trash cans but would receive a 95-gallon roll container for recycling, and again recycling collection would be cut to twice a month.

The bids:

Base bid Year 1: WM $15.20 per household per month; AD $13.95 per household per month.

Base bid Year 2: WM $15.96; AD $14.72.

Base bid Year 3: WM $16.76; AD $15.53.

Alternate I Year 1: WM $16.00; AD $16.14.

Alternate I Year 2: WM $16.80; AD $16.95.

Alternate I Year 3: WM $17.69; AD $17.79.

Alternate II Year 1: WM $13.95; AD $13.95.

Alternate II Year 2: WM $14.64; AD $14.65.

Alternate II Year 3: WM $15.38; AD $15.38.

In this last year of the existing three-year contract—which expires on Dec. 31—the town is paying $10.36 per household per month. Over the life of the contract the town is averaging $10.05 per household per month.

Trash Collection

This Week

While on the subject of trash collection, Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg noted that the Columbus Day holiday will not affect refuse and recycling collection this week and that the daily pickup schedule remains unchanged.

1100N to Close

In other business, Schnadenberg announced that, beginning next week and for the next four or five days, 1100N between 23rd Street and Pearson Road will be closed to traffic, while a Wolverine Pipeline crew repairs a natural gas line under the road.

Flood Aftermath

Meanwhile, Schnadenberg expressed his surprise at the sheer volume of flood-damaged debris which the Street Department collected in the weeks following the big rain: 101 households arranged for pickup and fully 33 dump trucks were filled. “It was a lot more significant than I imagined,” he said.

In related news, Town Engineer Mark O’Dell said that he and Schnadenberg have been in discussions with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and hope to secure up to 75 percent reimbursement for the town’s expenses during the flood, including the cost of repairing the badly damaged boardwalk in Coffee Creek Park and the sinkhole on 14th Street.

Sinkholes are still appearing here and there, O’Dell added. Anyone who sees one is asked to contact the Street Department at 926-2222 and report it.

Road Inventory

At Schnadenberg’s request, members voted 4-0 to accept as public rights-of-way approximately one mile of roadways in the Villages of Sand Creek IV and V. Schnadenberg said after the meeting that the town’s current road inventory totals around 69 miles.

 

Posted 10/14/2008

 

 

 

 

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