The Richmond Sanitary District board on July 22 approved a series of purchases for the solid waste division intended to modernize routing and expand recycling capacity: a three‑year Samsara GPS and routing contract through Sourcewell and contracts for trash/recycling containers and 14‑yard roll‑off containers.

District staff recommended purchasing Samsara GPS units using a Sourcewell cooperative contract to provide live GPS tracking, engine diagnostic codes and front‑facing cameras for the fleet. Staff said the system will integrate with planned asset‑management and routing software, help reassign route segments automatically if a truck breaks down, reduce missed stops and assist training of new drivers. The Sourcewell contract price is $8,933.20 for year one if implemented before a specified cutoff; otherwise first‑year pricing is $9,718.40. Years two and three were listed at $9,422.40 per year; staff described the contract as a three‑year engagement. The board approved the purchase by motion and voice vote.

On containers, staff recommended awarding the purchase of 1,044 plastic trash and recycling containers to Pyramid Equipment of Rolling Prairie, Indiana (Cascade Engineering product) under Sourcewell contract #120324CEI. Staff said Pyramid offered a 4% discount off previous retail pricing; the recommended purchase amount was listed in the meeting materials. Staff also noted the district manager of Solid Waste, Randy Wright, plans to apply for state recycling grants that could cover up to 50% of container costs for route expansion.

Separately, the board approved a quote award for up to eight 14‑yard roll‑off containers to Converto Manufacturing of Cambridge City, Indiana, at $4,500 each plus $50 shipping per container. The district plans to use those containers for bulky trash, yard waste and brush collection.

Board members discussed the interplay between new GPS routing data and planned recycling route changes; staff said grants for recycling containers are available on an ongoing basis and that the district hopes to secure grant funding to offset part of the container purchase cost. The board approved the Samsara contract purchase and the container awards by voice vote; specific individual votes were recorded as aye in the meeting but not tallied by name in the transcript.