Buncombe Commissioners: Talking Trash

  • New company to haul Buncombe trash
  • County closer to 911 agreement
  • Honor and Remember flag gets unanimous support

by Brian Postelle

Republic Services of North Carolina, better known locally as GDS, has been picking up curbside trash and recyclables in Buncombe County since 2000, but it appears that a new company may soon be taking over that job.

Republic Services is a national company that, according to its Web site, operates in 40 states and 3,000 municipalities, including Asheville. But in a 4-1 vote at its Sept. 15 meeting, Buncombe County commissioners decided to go another direction for county collection, voting to bring in Florida-based Waste Pro. Requiring a second vote to ratify, the move could put 35 GDS employees out of work — although Waste Pro says that if it does take over servicing 25,000 county households in 2010, it would give first shot to GDS employees when hiring.

The board's Valley Street meeting room usually has plenty of seats to choose from, but this time chairs were filled with representatives from three companies as well as GDS employees. Whereas GDS representatives defended their record and touted their experience working the roads of Buncombe County, Waste Pro and Waste Industries, which is also based in Florida, seemed focused on reassuring GDS employees about their hiring plans and highlighting their benefits and bonuses.

Buncombe County renews its exclusive contract for trash and recycling removal every ten years and the three companies were the only ones to reply to a call for bids and proposals by the county. GDS' bid was far and away the highest, at $17.03 per household per month. The company now charges $14.70 for that same service, and Waste Industries and Waste Pro's bids were closer to that target, at $14.55 and $14.20 respectively. The contract only applies to unincorporated areas of Buncombe County.

But GDS Vice President Drew Isenhour countered that the company's experience is worth the rate. "While I was astonished as anyone at the difference in prices and proposals, I think we have the experience in Buncombe County and have demonstrated that experience."

Isenhour told commissioners that the rise in charges was justified because of higher tipping fees at the county landfill, a recent increase in the number of bags allowed per household and the refusal of the county to reimburse the company for recyclables. "If it's all about price, I suggest you take one of the others," he said.

In the past, Buncombe County has reimbursed GDS $33 a ton to cover the bill from Curbside management, which receives the recyclable material. That policy is being discontinued, said County Waste Manager Jerry Mears. "There should be a little bit of revenue there," Mears told Xpress after the meeting. "The hauler will have to negotiate that with Curbside Services."

When it won the contract in 1999, GDS bid $11.34 per household, a rate $3.36 lower than is being charged now. Under the contract, Isenhour noted, the company cannot raise its rates during the first two years of service. That was another factor in the company's decision to submit a higher bid, he said.

County resident and board meeting regular Jerry Rice told the commissioners that there is a level of service expected that could make a higher rate the better bet.  "There's more to it than the bottom line," he said.

And Land-of-Sky Regional Planner Holly Bullman praised GDS' work for recycling awareness."I consider them a key stakeholder in educating the region's youth about recycling," Bullman said.

Representatives from the other companies, meanwhile, assured the board of their ability to do the job to expected standards and to navigate the mountainous roads of Buncombe County. "This is not unfamiliar terrain," said Waste Pro regional Vice President Tim Dolan.

Mears gave the commissioners a rundown of the decision-making process, including rankings based on price, technical ability and previous performance before announcing that the staff recommendation was to hire Waste Pro.

He also assured the board that it was not just Waste Pro's lowest bid that earned that recommendation. "The basis of awarding the franchise will not be solely based on low cost," he said.  "We expect the companies to put their best game forward and provide information in their proposals that will make them stand out and that will really make the choice clear."

But a few minutes later, he backpedaled, emphasizing that cost should be the most important criteria when making the selection. "Strictly, all we're asking for is the cheapest rate for the citizens of Buncombe County to get their waste hauled," he said.

Commissioner Bill Stanley saw it differently, noting there was no way to guarantee in the contract that Waste Pro would hire the former GDS workers. "I'm thinking about 35 Buncombe County people out of work," he said. "People can say they are going to hire them, but it is not written in stone." Stanley made a motion to award the contract to GDS but got no second.

Commissioner Carol Peterson followed by making a motion to hire Waste Pro, which was seconded by Commissioner Holly Jones. The motion passed 4-1 with Stanley voting no.

In order for the contract to be made official, the board must take a second vote, which is scheduled for their next meeting on Oct. 6.

Together at last?

Since 2003, Buncombe County and the City of Asheville have been trying to finalize an agreement that would consolidate 911 emergency services, and it may soon be time to sign on the dotted line. Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution that removed a troublesome $2.5 million payout to Asheville if the county backed out of the agreement. In the early days of the partnership, AsheviIle had held off on seeking funding of its own in order to combine efforts with the county, which now will receive the funds to operate the entire system. The $2.5 million was intended to serve as a safety buffer in case the city got left out on a limb by Buncombe County. In June, the board cried foul on that provision.

The new agreement will supply Asheville with a certain portion of funding based on the amount of phone lines and cell phones within its municipal boundary.

The next stop for the revised draft agreement is City Council chambers for Council's Sept. 22 meeting.

Run it up the pole

Following its August approval by Asheville City Council, the Honor and Remember flag earned a nod from the commissioners. A national movement is afoot to gain official federal recognition for the flag, which is designed in remembrance of America's war dead. (The flag can be viewed at www.honorandremember.org.)

The board unanimously approved a resolution supporting a U.S. House bill to adopt the flag.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “Buncombe Commissioners: Talking Trash

  1. Judy Thompson

    Received information from WastePro yesterday (Dec 26) regarding the switch in companies and details about their requirements. Seems their bid price did not include the $3.50/mo they charge for use of a 95-gal cart (which GDS provided at a total cost of $15). Or that, if you don’t want to pay rental every month for the cart, you can only use 32-gal containers (difficult to ferry back and forth) or 32-gal bags (easy for bears and animals to tear apart). Hmmmm, maybe that low bid was not so low after all.

  2. Mary Hurst

    I WISH WE HAD GDS BACK! Waste pro has been nothing but trouble since they have been picking up my trash. They have failed to pick it up several times, have argued with my neighbors(which by the way was very embarassing, since they were picking up my trash.) Today was the last straw. They didn’t pick my trash up today, and when I called to ask why, I was told it was because I hadn’t paid my bill. I told her that I pay my bill every month and have been since nineteen eighty. She said that they don’t have a monthly plan there. I proceeded to tell her (nicely) that when they first took over back in the fall, I talked to someone at that office and they told me that I could do that if it was financially better for me. And then she sarcasticlly said “And I bet you don’t remember their name do you”? No I don’t remember the name, but I remember the voice and it was hers. When I told her that I would probably pay my neighbor to let me use her dumpster, she seemed glad to lose me as a customer. She said that would probably be the thing to do.BUNCOMBE COUNTY PLEASE BRING GDS BACK!!!

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.