Cibolo council asks staff to seek competitive bids for solid-waste franchise, requests price options for once- and twice-weekly service

CIBOLO, Texas — City staff will solicit competitive proposals for a new solid-waste franchise after the City Council gave detailed direction on options it wants included in the request for proposals (RFP).

Council and staff spent more than an hour on Jan. 14 reviewing options and trade-offs with consultant Lynn Lantrip of Solid Waste Specialist (SWS) and members of the city project team. Staff emphasized that the RFP will ask bidders to spell out several service scenarios so the council can weigh cost versus service when proposals are returned.

The council instructed staff to ensure the RFP explicitly requests separate price proposals for: (a) the city’s current service level (one weekly pickup with additional twice-weekly service during summer/holiday periods), (b) year-round twice-weekly curbside pickup as an alternate, and (c) a single weekly pickup option as a baseline. Council members also asked for add-on pricing for a second residential cart per household (so residents could select larger or additional carts), household hazardous-waste collection, and an optional curbside composting program.

Consultant Lantrip told the council that bidders will plan capital costs (trucks and containers) around the city’s projected household growth and that national firms will compete for the contract. He said the RFP and scoring process will weigh total, citywide cost (not just house rates) alongside operational elements such as safety performance, call-center capabilities and recycling/bulk-trash handling.

Council discussion touched repeatedly on customer service, enforcement and the impacts of keeping commercial services (dumpsters/roll-offs) within a single franchise. Staff recommended keeping commercial and residential services within the franchise to protect the city’s rights of way and to ensure franchise fees cover heavy-use impacts; several council members agreed.

Other items the council asked staff and the consultant to include in the RFP or to return with price quotes for council review: - Vendor-operated customer-service centers (vendors would take calls directly, provide same- or next-day reporting, and generate daily/weekly performance reports). Council asked for cost comparisons of vendor call centers versus continuing to have city utility-billing staff manage complaints. - Household hazardous-waste (HHW) collection on a scheduled basis (staff to return price estimates; example figures cited in presentation were about $1 per month if included citywide). - Options for compost/organics pickup as a citywide subscription or add-on and cost/space implications (several council members expressed skepticism about uptake and impacts on curbspace in neighborhoods and HOAs). - Policies on second carts and cart sizing: solicit pricing for 64-gallon and 95-gallon cart options and ask vendors to price second carts as optional add-ons. - Senior pricing/discount and alternative of offering a smaller cart in lieu of a discount (Council favored offering a smaller-cart option over a broad senior discount). - Whether to include periodic ‘bulk’ or brush pickup requests as part of base service (the consultant recommended more frequent bulk/brush removal to reduce blight; council asked to see quotes for both request-based and weekly/regular bulk pickup). - A capped, index-based annual rate adjustment (the staff and consultant recommended using an industry-specific index with a 5% cap on year-over-year increases). - Expectations for equipment condition: RFP to require trucks no older than four years on contract start and no older than 10 years during the contract term.

Council also directed staff to ask proposers for a public-education fund contribution (a line-item that vendors can provide each year for community recycling/outreach), and to request information about vendor call-center locations (several council members asked that responses confirm U.S.-based call centers if possible).

Timeline and next steps: Lantrip and staff proposed publishing the RFP in mid-February, receiving proposals in March, conducting interviews in March–April and returning an award recommendation to council in April with a contract start aligned to the current contract expiry. Council did not vote on a final scope; their action was to give staff direction to include the options above and to return costs and a short list for interview.

Why it matters: Solid-waste services affect every household, the city’s appearance, rights-of-way wear and annual utility bills. The council’s direction aims to create a competitive procurement that gives officials trade-offs between price and service level so they can set policy rather than accept a single one-size offer.

What council said: “Ask them for both — quote for each,” Mayor Mark Allen urged when the question of one-versus-two pickups came up. Several council members stressed the need to balance service desires with roadwear and collection costs.

Staff contact and follow up: City Manager Wayne Reed and consultant Lynn Lantrip will finalize the RFP language based on tonight’s direction and return the formal schedule and cost comparisons when proposals are in hand.