Warr Acres council advances plan to switch to polycart trash service; staff to draft ordinance and final fees

Warr Acres — The City Council on Sept. 16 moved toward adopting an automated polycart trash collection system and asked staff to prepare an implementing ordinance and customer notices for council review next month.

Public Works Director Mike Schmidt told the council the city expects about 3,300 households to convert to 95‑gallon polycarts and that the city’s new side‑loader truck can handle roughly 1,000–1,400 carts per day. “It came out to roughly $23 a month as a rough breakeven cost,” Schmidt said while describing the assumptions behind the recommended rates and equipment purchases.

The item matters because the change will reduce collection to one pickup per week (from the current twice‑weekly service), change routes by ward, add new carts owned by the city, and establish fees and rules for extra carts, bulky items and noncompliant setouts.

Schmidt reviewed logistics and costs: carts cost about $65 each to purchase; staff penciled a 15‑year working life and a 200‑pound practical load limit; two existing trucks have hydraulic tippers installed and a third side‑loader is planned. He said the city will operate three trucks for routine collection and use a fourth for special pickups and streets that cannot be served by the automatic lift. Schmidt also proposed a twice‑yearly bulky‑waste pickup (April and October) and a process to document and charge for oversized or early setouts.

Discussion focused on customer cost, holiday coverage and route days. The council and staff debated how to schedule pickups on holiday weeks (many holidays fall on Mondays) and how to minimize resident disruption during the rollout. Staff said the manufacturer expects to deliver carts in October and staff would start delivery so the service could begin in November, with a phased “break‑in” period using all available trucks.

On rates, staff presented current and projected numbers: the city’s present monthly residential charge is $36; staff estimated a technical breakeven near $23 under a set of efficiency assumptions; and asked the council to choose a final rate and ordinance language next month. Council discussion produced a working recommendation that staff will include in the ordinance: a $30 monthly base charge for one cart, $5 a month for a second cart and $10 a month for third and fourth carts (proposal to be finalized by ordinance). Several council members asked for the proposed fee schedule to be revisited after the first year.

Council members and residents pressed staff on holiday weeks and route days. Staff presented a tentative weekday assignment by ward (Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4) with Wednesday held as the citywide makeup day; council members asked staff to return with a clearer holiday handling plan and a final schedule the council can adopt in ordinance form.

Schmidt asked council members to review the proposed customer mailer and a short polycart “quick guide” for residents; the council asked that the city mail the information (rather than only publishing it in a newsletter) so renters and property managers receive it. Staff said they will prepare an ordinance and a public‑information packet for the council’s next meeting and will include details about replacement cart fees, noncompliance charges and a process for returning carts to delinquent accounts once utility payments are current.

The council did not adopt rates or an ordinance at the meeting; it directed staff to prepare the ordinance and the outreach materials for a vote next month.

What’s next: staff will draft the ordinance, the fee schedule, a resident mailer and an implementation timeline showing cart delivery (anticipated October) and a phased service start (anticipated November). The council asked staff to return with the final ordinance language and a recommended holiday/makeup schedule.