Some Cherryvale city residents will see a slight increase in their monthly trash rates while others will see a decrease in their monthly trash bills as a result of a new contract signed between the Cherryvale City Council and Allied Waste on Monday. Allied Waste is the city’s trash provider.
City councilors voted unanimously to adopt a trash contract whereby trash rates will increase 45 cents per month for those city trash customers who do not use an Allied Waste poly-cart. Trash customers who do use the company’s poly-cart will see a $1.55 per month drop in their trash rates as a result of the new contract.
The new rate (with the $1.00 administration/billing fee included) will be $11.10 per month per resident. The current rate structure assesses a $10.65 rate for residents who do not use an Allied Waste poly-cart and $12.65 rate for residents who do use the company’s poly-carts.
The new contract will not impact commercial trash rates, however the contract does call for Allied Waste to negotiate those commercial rates annually.
The contract also allows Allied Waste to impose a yearly increase for residential rates no greater than 6 percent of the consumer price index.
The new contract will go into effect on March 1, meaning that the water and trash bills that are sent to customers at the end of February will reflect the changed trash rates. The new contract expires on Dec. 31, 2012.
In other business transacted at Monday’s meeting, city councilors:
• agreed to grant a 3 percent pay hike to city employees after the council had initially planned for a 4 percent salary increase. A 3 percent increase would translate to $21,169 in additional city costs, city administrator Greg McDanel told city councilors at a planning session on Jan. 4.
• raised concerns about the increased blockage of rail crossings in the downtown Cherryvale area by the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. Councilors noted a sizable increase in the amount of time it takes for the trains to switch cars in the downtown area.
Rather than take their concerns to the SKO Railroad chiefs, councilors said the issue should be addressed to state legislators when councilors and McDanel visit the state capitol on Feb. 2.
• named Terracon, a Topeka-based environmental services company, to be the city’s environemtnal professional consultant at a cost of about $345,000. Money for the consultation services comes solely from a pair of $200,000 grants that the City of Cherryvale received through the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency provided the grants because of the volume of industrial and commercial properties that are developable but have a history of industrial or petroleum contamination.
Terracon will work the City of Cherryvale and property owners to develop a marketing strategy for those affected properties.
