Mount Gilead council awards three-year residential trash contract to Mid Ohio, approves multiple ordinances and grant RFQs

The Mount Gilead Village Council voted April 24 to award a three-year municipal residential trash contract to Mid Ohio and approved a related memorandum of understanding to have the contractor begin pickups before the formal June 1 start date. The council also passed multiple resolutions and ordinances, advanced a credit-card policy to second reading, and authorized requests for qualifications for engineering and zoning work tied to a potential $750,000 Community Development Block Grant.

The administrator, Derek, told the council that two bids were received for residential trash: Rumkey at $16.80 per household and Mid Ohio at $16.50. The village will continue to bill residents $16.80; the $0.30-per-household difference will be used to fund the village’s 10% senior discount. Derek said the memorandum of understanding will cover pay to Mid Ohio for roughly the number of houses the bid contemplates for two weeks in April and for the month of May while the contract formally begins June 1. "In essence, if you approve these two things tonight, they are taking over the trash effective immediately," Derek said.

Council approved the award and the MOU by roll call (all voting members recorded as voting yes on the motions). Council also moved to suspend readings and pass an emergency RFQ (Resolution 42026A) to obtain engineering services for potential CDBG projects and passed Resolution 31626B to seek qualifications to update the village zoning code. The administrator described the CDBG opportunity as a roughly $750,000 program aimed at low-to-moderate-income areas and said projects could include water and sewer line replacement, sidewalks, resurfacing and limited storm improvements.

On the municipal construction front, the council heard that two bids were submitted for the water-treatment plant: an Adena bid around $8.1 million and a lower bid by Simson at roughly $6.08 million (engineers’ estimate ~ $7 million). GPD Group is reviewing bids and the council was asked to consider an administrative-observation technical-representation agreement (a $600,000 contract rolled into construction financing) with GPD; the ordinance to enter that agreement passed on a vote.

Other business passed included a preemptive resolution opposing the siting of a data center (Resolution 42026B), several ordinance readings to update administrative code and codified ordinances, and authorization to publish RFQs for on-call engineering services (Resolution 31626C). The council also advanced a credit-card policy to a second reading and directed the administrator to provide more detailed itemized reporting of credit-card expenditures by department.

What happens next: Mid Ohio will begin coordinating routes with village staff; the formal contract takes effect June 1. GPD Group will complete its bid analysis and recommend next steps for the water-treatment plant; the village will proceed with RFQs for engineers to support the CDBG grant application.

Votes at a glance (selected): - Award municipal residential trash contract to Mid Ohio / pass Ordinance 2021: Passed by roll call (members recorded as voting yes). - Temporary memorandum of understanding (interim pickup through May): Passed by roll call (members recorded as voting yes). - Resolution 31626B (RFQ zoning code): Passed by roll call. - Resolution 31626C (RFQ engineering): Passed by roll call. - Resolution 42026A (RFQ for CDBG engineering; emergency): Passed by roll call. - Resolution 42026B (opposing data center placement): Passed by roll call.

The council approved the items in a single meeting; no separate public hearing for the trash award was recorded. The administrator said the commercial accounts will be notified they must contract separately for service after June 1 and that Mid Ohio has agreed to honor village commercial pricing for one year if customers choose to stay with them.

Sources: Council meeting transcript (administrator Derek; roll calls recorded by clerk Kathy).