Crockett council accepts solid‑waste contract renewal with Piney Woods; staff to finalize corrections

The Crockett City Council voted to accept a five‑year renewal of its solid‑waste collection contract with Piney Woods/Live Oak, directing staff to reconcile several contract items and return the revised agreement for final approval.

Council members and company representatives spent the bulk of the discussion clarifying pricing, pickup hours and service details before the vote. Councilmember Lehi moved to accept the contract “with corrections”; another member seconded the motion and the council approved it by voice vote.

The council and Piney Woods representatives said the renewal will start at last year’s pricing for the first year and incorporate a subsequent annual adjustment tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI), capped at 3 percent (the contract will use the lesser of CPI or 3 percent). The council asked staff and the company to confirm language so the parties are clear how annual increases will apply given a prior skipped year in the existing contract timeline.

Council and the company also resolved several operational items that appeared in different places of the draft agreement. The contract will preserve a provision for up to two bulky items collected as part of residential pickup if residents request the service in advance, but appliances or units containing refrigerant (Freon) will require the appropriate tag and cannot be accepted on routine pickups unless handled through the designated drop‑off process. The city will continue to host two large‑item drop‑off events each year.

Piney Woods agreed to exchange the prior allotment of 32 roll‑off containers for a transfer‑station credit providing up to 1,000 cubic yards of disposal capacity for city cleanup work (used for abandoned‑lot cleanups, ditches and similar projects). The company said the transfer‑station arrangement is intended to improve logistics compared with coordinating on‑site roll‑offs.

The council identified and asked staff to correct inconsistent start‑time language found in separate contract sections: one clause referenced a 7 a.m. restriction on residential collection while another allowed service beginning at 6 a.m. Council members discussed a split approach to limit early pickups in deep residential neighborhoods while allowing earlier service on main streets and downtown. One council member proposed moving downtown collection earlier (a suggestion was made to start downtown pickups as early as 5 a.m.) and using a 6 a.m. start for main streets, with more restrictive timing in certain residential streets to reduce conflicts with school traffic. City staff and the company said they would try the adjusted routing and return to council if the changes cause problems.

Other contract logistics discussed included: the term language and notice address updates; fee schedule clarifications (staff noted the current residential monthly charge and that debris pickup fees are applied by yard when negotiated); and the company’s local staffing presence and use of Crockett as an operating base. The term of the renewal was described in discussion as a multi‑year renewal (the presenter characterized it as a five‑year contract renewal to be finalized in the corrected document).

Next steps: staff will incorporate the corrections to the draft (hours of service, CPI wording, notice addresses and other clarified line items) and bring the revised agreement back to council for final approval. The council also approved the previous meeting minutes earlier in the same session by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: Approval of minutes from the March 24, 2025 regular session — motion moved and seconded; outcome: motion carries (voice vote, tally not specified). Acceptance of the Piney Woods/Live Oak solid‑waste contract renewal with corrections — motion moved by Councilmember Lehi, seconded (name not specified); outcome: approved (voice vote, tally not specified).