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Residents press Freeport council on contractor damage, AmeriWaste billing and poor rental conditions
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to hold contractors and landlords accountable: one business owner asked that city contracts require reimbursement for businesses harmed by crews who break pipes; another resident accused AmeriWaste of breaching a garbage contract and "double dipping" on Sunday work; a community organizer described mold, eviction and housing-safety complaints and announced a town hall to organize legal action.
At the Nov. 4 Freeport City Council meeting, three residents used public comment to press the council on contractor accountability and long‑standing housing problems.
Pamela Dancy, a downtown business owner, asked whether the city could require contractors to reimburse businesses when contractor crews break pipes and force closures. "Is there any way... that in their contracts that they would be responsible to pay for the businesses that they had to shut down for the day?" she asked, saying those businesses were already suffering from the wider economy and repeated incidents earlier in the year.
Sam Reyna raised concerns about the city’s solid-waste contractor, AmeriWaste, accusing the company of performing bulky-waste collection by hand on Sundays and invoicing the city again for the same work. Reyna called the practice "double dipping," said the contract requires proper equipment, and urged staff to explain why the city awarded a long-term (seven-year) contract to a relatively unknown company and whether the contract breached procurement standards.
Manning Rullerson described persistent rental-housing problems including extensive mold he said he found behind drywall, and alleged that tenants who paid rent were nevertheless evicted after the pandemic. He said the city lacks public housing and announced a resident-organized town hall at the public library in November (the meeting notice in the transcript did not specify a calendar date) to collect residents’ complaints and coordinate legal action against negligent landlords. "I am gonna directly take them to court and sue them," he said, indicating an intent to pursue litigation and tenant advocacy.
Council members did not take policy votes during the public-comment period, but the concerns drew requests for follow-up: staff and council members suggested the comments could be added to a future agenda or prompt additional legal review and outreach to affected businesses and tenants.
