Grant County approves two-year extension with Republic Service for curbside solid-waste collection

Grant County Fiscal Court on June 3 approved letting Judge Chuck Dills sign a two-year extension with Republic Service for the county's exclusive curbside solid-waste collection contract.

The vote came after presentations from Brian Miles, the county's solid-waste coordinator, and discussion among magistrates about whether to re-bid the contract. Miles told the court the county and city mayors met with Republic and other potential bidders and concluded the county would likely not obtain a lower overall price if it put the contract out for competitive bid.

"This contract came up for renewal for the next 2 years, and I had called a meeting with all the mayors of all the cities and myself to meet with Brian and David Smith from the 109 board to to discuss our options on the contract of renewing with Republic or putting it out for bid," Judge Chuck Dills, Grant County judge-executive, said during the discussion. Dills said the mayors "unanimous[ly]" recommended staying with Republic despite a proposed rate increase.

Miles described why Republic's proposed extension was judged preferable to rebidding. "We were very unique with this contract when we bid it. We bid it for 20 year contract," Miles said, and he told the court that other firms' quotes would likely be higher once the county-added services were included. Miles listed services the county receives under the Republic arrangement that he said other bidders would not include free of charge: municipal dumpster service, an assistance program for financially challenged residents, free disposal for roadside litter, free dumpsters for tire-shredder disposal and donated boxes for community cleanups.

The county also discussed the separate landfill host agreement and the operational status of the Republic landfill. Miles said the county maintains an ordinance that prevents the landfill operator from accepting waste unless a valid host agreement is in force and that Republic continues to hold permits because the site has not completed closure procedures. Miles said the host-agreement protections and the extras provided under the collection contract weighed in favor of renewal.

Magistrates also asked about the contract's fuel-adjustment clause. Miles explained the adjustment is recalculated quarterly using the federal energy agency's regional wholesale diesel price; the adjustment is applied as a percentage to the base rate.

Miles told the court Republic's proposal would raise residential bills by $5 per month in the first year, with a smaller increase in the second year. He also said Republic reports annual participation rates of "somewhere between 97 and 99 percent." The court did not receive competing written bids during the meeting.

Magistrate Riley moved to authorize Judge Dills to sign the Republic Service proposal; Magistrate Kodar seconded. The court voted by voice; the judge declared the motion carried and said he would sign the contract and deliver the originals to Brian Miles the following day.

The contract extension will be executed under the terms discussed; the court did not direct staff to reopen bidding at this meeting.