Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County awards exclusive solid‑waste contract to GFL, sets residential rate at $20/month
Summary
At its July 2 meeting the Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County Commission accepted GFL's low bid for residential and commercial solid‑waste collection and introduced a three‑year contract (effective Sept. 1, 2024) that sets a $20 per‑month charge for a 95‑gallon cart (1,300‑unit minimum) and includes commercial rebates and detailed service rules.
The Unified Government of Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County voted July 2 to accept GFL’s proposal for exclusive residential and commercial solid‑waste collection and disposal service and introduced a contract that, if executed, would begin Sept. 1, 2024.
Commissioner Damon Hoyte moved to accept GFL’s proposal; Commissioner Timothy Biddle seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Chairman Charles Coffey and County Manager Thomas Weaver noted the packet included a full contract text describing service expectations, billing responsibilities and the initial price schedule.
The contract included in the meeting materials specifies that residential service will use a 95‑gallon rollout cart and sets the advertised residential rate at $20.00 per month per container, based on a reported county minimum of 1,300 residential units. Exhibit A in the packet also notes a 10% rebate to the county on commercial dumpster billing (for example, a $90/month dumpster would yield a $9 monthly franchise fee to the county). The document requires collection once weekly, curbside placement by 6:00 a.m., limits collection hours to 6:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., and sets holiday and special‑occasion pickup rules (one week after Independence Day and Thanksgiving; two weeks after Christmas; special events by prior arrangement).
The contract packet specifies disposal to a permitted Subtitle D municipal solid‑waste landfill and allows rate adjustments for changes in tipping fees and for CPI increases after the first year. It contains standard provisions on insurance, indemnity, force‑majeure, container ownership (carts supplied by the contractor), damage fees for user‑caused loss of carts, and a three‑year initial term with renewal and termination provisions.
Chairman Coffey urged residents to place carts at the road for efficient collection and said the county needs to evaluate its recycling facility: “If your trashcan is not at the road, you can take your trash to the recycle, but it does cost the county more when you do so,” Coffey said during the meeting packet discussion. The board also discussed the county’s role in billing residential customers: under the contract the county will bill and collect residential fees and the contractor will bill the county for residential service; commercial customers are billed directly by the contractor.
What happens next: The commission approved the bid award at the meeting; the contract text in the packet references an effective start date of Sept. 1, 2024. Any formal execution and operational changes (routes, notices to customers, cart deployment) must follow county approval of the final contract. The contract also contemplates annual rate negotiations and a formal process for mid‑term adjustments tied to documented cost changes.
Clarifying details from the packet: the residential rate is shown as $20.00 per month for a single 95‑gallon container; extra 95‑gallon carts, if requested, are priced in the Exhibit at the same monthly rate; the contract requires the contractor to provide and own carts and to maintain an office reachable on regular collection days.
The county’s acceptance of GFL’s proposal will affect all households in the county enrolled in curbside service and establishes new billing and operational rules that county staff and the contractor must implement before the service start date.
