City picks hauler for trash pilot program

Waste Management tentatively receives district contract

BY KEVIN DUGGAN • KEVINDUGGAN@COLORADOAN.COM • JANUARY 15, 2010

Waste Management of Northern Colorado has been tentatively selected as the hauler for a pilot trash district proposed for northwest Fort Collins.

If the City Council approves the contract, the company would provide exclusive trash and recycling pick-up services to 6,500 households in an area bordered by College Avenue, the Poudre River, Overland Trail and Prospect Road. District service would begin in early summer and run five years.

Residents would pay between $7.13 and $21.39 per month depending on their level of service. Charges would appear on city utility bills. Households could choose another hauler for service, but they would still have to pay the city's basic service fee.

The proposed rates are comparable with those typically charged through contracts haulers have with homeowner associations to provide exclusive service, said Ann Turnquist of the city manager's office.

In July, a divided City Council approved formation of the pilot district over the complaints of local trash-hauling companies and some residents.

Critics said the district would take away residents’ ability to choose who they do business with and would be the first step toward establishing trash districts citywide. They also claimed districting would cost local companies business and jobs.

Proponents of the district said it would improve the quality of life in neighborhoods by reducing the number of large trash trucks rumbling down residential streets.

City officials negotiated the contract with Waste Management after failing to reach an agreement with locally owned Gallegos Sanitation Inc., which also submitted a proposal to operate the district, Turnquist said.

“Waste Management had a competitive price that met our requirements and some attractive additional services that will help the city in meeting its recycling goals,” she said.

The company would also sponsor free leaf drop-off events every fall for district residents as well as electronic waste recycling drop-off events under the proposed contract.

Mark Glorioso, general manager of Gallegos Sanitation Inc., declined to comment on the district until company officials could meet and discuss its ramifications.

The City Council still has to approve the contract and an ordinance establishing the rates

.

An unusual public hearing on the proposed district is scheduled Feb. 2. City staff will present the details of the program and take comments from residents.

If the council decides to proceed with the project, more public comment would be taken when the council formally considers the ordinance.