Residential waste recycling may be coming to Fernley under three of four options included in a survey reviewed by the Fernley City Council on May 21 during a presentation by Waste Management, the city’s current residential trash contractor.
The council directed city staff to work with Waste Management to confirm the residential survey prior to June 1 so it may be included with quarterly trash bills residents will receive in July and bring the results back to the council to determine the option selected by the most respondents.
As was presented to the city council at an earlier council meeting on April 2, the first of the four options include the current service option, whereby there is weekly pickup of 96-gallon trash cans and up to seven extra trash bags, no recycling, one transfer station voucher annually and no cost savings, said Kim Fleming, Waste Management’s Northern Nevada Contract Manager.
Under the second service option, which would save customers approximately $4 a month or about $12 per quarter, services would remain the same as under the current contract, except Waste Management would also provide bi-weekly pickup of a 96-gallon recycling trash can, she said.
Under the third option, saving customers about $5 per month or about $15 quarterly, the seven extra trash bags weekly pickup would be eliminated, bi-weekly recycling pickup would be continued, but customers would annually receive two transfer station vouchers rather than the one voucher now provided, Fleming said.
The fourth service option, saving clients approximately $4.50 a month or about $13.50 quarterly, would be the same as the third option, except to compensate for the loss of the pickup of up to seven extra bags of trash a week, the company would provide customers 20 to 25 stickers a year which they may use to place on extra trash bags for pickup, one sticker per bag, she said.
The three new service options would be based upon a 10-year contract, beginning in early 2029 when the current contract expires, or a new contract could be negotiated earlier if the city council desires.
Councilman Albert Torres said he likes the different options on the survey, but said the 10-year contract is too long.
“I don’t mind making some decisions that are going to affect future council and future mayors, but I don’t want to lock them into a service contract for a decade because a lot of things may change between now and 10 years, it’s actually going to be 13 years down the road. I want to allow that council and the citizens to make that decision for themselves.”
Fleming said the term of the contract can be open for discussions, but she said the 10-year term allowed for the cost savings per customer per month, and shortening the length of the contract would change the potential cost savings.
She said Waste Management is asking for a 10-year contract to recoup the extra costs it would incur to provide additional needed equipment, including recycling trash bins, added trucks to service the recycling efforts and additional drivers for the recycling trucks.
Councilman Ryan Hanan said he also would prefer a shorter-term contract. “My number one concern is that as a growing community, as we increase in size, we would have the ability to negotiate a much better price,” at a later date, he said, noting that he likes the recycling options, just not a long-term contract.
Torres also indicated that though he gets a lot of positive feedback on Waste Management’s services, he would prefer the residential trash contract be put out to bid in order to receive more options.
City Attorney Aaron Mouritsen said there is no need to go out to bid for trash services. “This is a franchise. It’s not requiring any money to be spent by the city so it’s not a purchasing contract. So, it does not require a bid. You can choose to go out to bid, but you’re not required to do so,” unless the city wants to terminate the existing contract with Waste Management, he said.
Hanan said it was his understanding that, according to the existing contract with Waste Management, the city cannot put residential trash service out to bid until the city is within six months of the expiration of the existing Waste Management contract. Mouritsen advised that since the city is nearing the end of the existing contract, the city would have to give Waste Management a one-year notice that it will go out to bid for trash services.
There was also some discussion about whether apartments would be required to use the city’s residential trash contractor. Hanan noted that he had received e-mails from apartment managers saying they felt they were conducting a business as an apartment facility, and they should not be included in any contract for residential trash services.
City Manager Benjamin Marchant said apartments are classified as commercial uses as far as land use, not residential, therefore, they could bid for their own trash services just like any other business.
At the earlier April 2 council meeting, Fleming had said Waste Management is looking at extending the hours of the transfer station, so it is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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