At the July 10 Lake Forest Park City Council meeting, resident David Pyle raised problems with curbside collection under the city’s contract with Republic Services, saying missed pickups, inconsistent placement of containers and disputed overage fees have created ongoing service and billing problems in his neighborhood.

Pyle said crews had moved bins closer together and then refused to collect containers that were repositioned, and that customers had been charged overage fees he said were not appropriate for small differences such as a three-inch lid tilt caused by a cat box. "They are charging overage fees when they shouldn't be charging overage fees," Pyle said. He described long hold times when he calls Republic Services and said he had not been able to obtain effective corrections. City staff said they would follow up and asked the resident to provide specifics for investigation.

In his public comment, Pyle thanked Republic Services representatives who are courteous when reached, but said operational problems and billing disputes have persisted and that he wanted the city to investigate whether contractual requirements are being met and whether customer-credit adjustments are warranted.

Action requested/next steps: Councilmembers asked staff to follow up with resident filings and to review performance under the Republic Services contract. The council did not take formal action on the contract at the meeting.