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City council votes for in-house yard waste pickup

Posted 8/31/21

Members of the Fayette city council changed their minds again with regard to yard waste pickup. Now rather than include collection by the city’s trash company, for an extra monthly fee, a city …

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City council votes for in-house yard waste pickup

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Members of the Fayette city council changed their minds again with regard to yard waste pickup. Now rather than include collection by the city’s trash company, for an extra monthly fee, a city employee will make monthly pickups.

The change was made amid an ongoing dialog between citizens and members of the city council.

In a special meeting held in May, the council chose to enter into a contract with RTS Waste Services, LLC. Yard waste pickup was not included.

The city’s previous trash company picked up yard waste twice a month. 

During a special meeting held May 18, the council voted to accept a bid from RTS for weekly trash pickup. The cost to customers increased by $2.20 per month, from $11.30 to $13.50 for the first year. At the time, the council opted for the lower bid from RTS that did not include yard waste removal, to keep the price down. Dave Kruger from RTS told the council that he didn’t think many people utilized the service. 

Since then, several citizens have complained to the council that they wanted yard waste pickup. The city maintains a compost dump at DC Rogers Lake where citizens may deposit yard debris. But getting the waste from yards to the dump is a problem for many. Some people said they do not have the means to haul brush and other yard debris to the dumpsite.

The council decided in July to add yard waste collection to the contract with RTS. The once-per-month pickup would mean an increase of $2 per month to every utility bill. Since then Danny Dougherty, Fayette’s Director of Public Works, said he has personally received many complaints from people who do not want to pay the extra fee and who will likely not use the service. “I think there’s just a handful of people that want that service,” he told the council at their August 24 meeting. “I don’t think it’s fair to the rest of the citizens who don’t use it.”

Dougherty suggested that as long as demand is reasonable, one of the city’s part-time employees could pick up yard waste once a month and haul it to the compost site.

Although RTS began trash collection in Fayette on June 1, the city still has not signed the contract. Changes, including whether or not to include yard-waste pickup, have been made to the contract since it was decided to accept the bid from RTS. Aldermen last week gave unanimous approval to sign the contract without yard-waste collection. They also approved a motion to have a city employee make pickups. Citizens will need to contact city hall in advance to be included on the collection list.

Further details, such as when collection will occur and what will be accepted will appear in this newspaper as they are announced.

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