Attachments

20240702-084412-44d-RTS Contract.pdf

The Fayette city council last week agreed to a new three-year contract with RTS Waste Services, the rural Slater-based company that picks up trash in Fayette. The unanimous decision was made during the Board of Aldermen’s regular meeting on Wednesday, June 25.

The new contract will hold prices at $15.50 a month per residence. The service may renew automatically with the approval of both the city and RTS. Rate increases are allowed after the initial three-year contract expires on May 31, 2027.

Leading up to the discussions of the new contract were various complaints regarding the performance of RTS in its duties. Such grievances included leaving empty trash cans in roadways and driveways, mishandling trash cans in a manner that caused them to break, not picking up spilled trash, and rude behavior.

City attorney Nathan Nickolaus, who negotiated the contract, said there was almost nothing in the old contract regarding these issues.

“We made all the changes that we had discussed here,” he said. “Mainly, they were about quality of service.”

New language added to the contract specifies that after they are emptied, cans must be placed back on the customer’s property. It says they may be placed on the street by the curb but can’t block streets or driveways. The contract states: “After each pickup, Contractor will replace the receptacles on the customer’s property or on the street directly adjacent to the curb. In no event may cans be replaced so as to block driveways or streets.”

Many times over the past three years, cans have been left in roadways, including on Church Street, the narrow section of MO 240 that bisects Fayette.

The new contract includes yard waste pickup, which will be collected every Monday. Previously, city crews had been picking up yard waste.

Yard waste includes grass, brush, and leaves. Limbs must be no more than three inches in diameter and no longer than three feet in length. They must be secured in bundles weighing no more than 50 pounds.

Bulk pickup is also included in the contract. Crews will pick up one bulk item a month per residence, as long as the item is limited to the size and weight that two men can pick up and load, the contract states. Bulk items do not include piles of bags from house clean-outs or items from commercial customers.

The entire contract may be viewed here.