Coffeyville commissioners press staff for costed options after debate over heavy trash trucks

Coffeyville City Commissioners spent extensive time reviewing bids for the city’s residential trash contract and asked staff to return with costed alternatives after heated discussion over truck weight, bulk pickup scheduling and who should bear the cost.

Commissioner Edwards raised the agenda item by describing visible pavement damage — he cited upheaved curbs and deep edge pits on older residential streets — and said the commission should consider mandating smaller, single-axle or mid-loading trucks even if the contract cost rises. “The weight of the trucks is the weight of the truck,” Jennifer Fagan, a Republic Services representative, told the commission, describing her company’s fleet and saying they have not run single-axle trucks in about 20 years.

Republic Services and Green Environmental each described trade-offs. John Hapner of Green Environmental said single-axle trucks tend not to churn pavement as badly as dual-axle or three-axle vehicles and gave payload examples (single-axle runs commonly take about six tons; automated dual-axle trucks can pick up to 12 tons). Hapner added that some towns use transfer runs or smaller vehicles but that approach raises operating costs and can be impractical at Coffeyville’s scale.

Commissioners and staff pressed vendors about the city’s current bulk-pickup rules. Vendors said the contract requires a five-day response to a resident call for a bulk pickup, which creates extra, out-of-route trips; Republic Services estimated roughly 300 such requests a month that create additional traffic. Commissioners discussed alternatives — restricting unscheduled bulk calls, moving to a scheduled monthly or twice-monthly bulk pickup, or creating a citywide cleanup day — and asked bidders how those changes would affect pricing.

The discussion also covered contract length and rate stability. Several commissioners said longer agreements (seven to 10 years) could hedge inflation and spread equipment costs; others warned against giving residents a tax cut while sharply raising trash rates. Staff noted that roughly 40% of a given contract cost has historically been passed to customers and that nuisance mowing and demolition work are funded in part from that margin.

Outcome and next steps: Commissioners did not vote on a contract. They asked staff to return in two weeks with a detailed comparison of the competing bids (5-, 7- and 10-year options), the cost implications of switching to different truck types, and estimates showing savings from scheduled bulk pickup options. The commission emphasized they prefer to evaluate negotiation options that may already exist in the current bids rather than rebid immediately.