Signal Mountain staff recommend negotiating with low bidder for waste hauling; contract negotiations to come to council

Town Manager Matt told the Signal Mountain Town Council at its March 24 work session that the town received two compliant bids for its waste hauling contract: the incumbent Republic Services and Waste Connections. "Waste Connections came in at a lower bid of $363,380," Matt said, adding that the figure is about $24,000 to $25,000 higher than the town's current contract with Republic.

Matt and the town's public works staff, led by Wesley (Public Works Director), recommended moving forward to negotiate terms with Waste Connections and seeking council approval at the town's April regular session. Matt said many contract details remain subject to negotiation, including a proposed annual rate-increase clause that vendors flagged in their bids. "We will set parameters on that that we're comfortable with before we agree to any contracts," he said.

Public works staff confirmed the bid was priced using the town's historical estimated tonnages (the bid schedule, section 301, shows estimated quantities) and that the town tracks actual tonnage throughout the year. Staff said Waste Connections verified it can meet the town's service needs.

Council members thanked public works staff for obtaining multiple bids and reducing the potential cost increase compared with what might have been a single-bid process. The manager asked for council consensus to proceed to negotiations; no formal vote was taken and staff said any negotiated contract will be brought to the council for final approval at a later meeting.