Montezuma documents phone poll to consider multi‑year GFL garbage contract, transcript lacks tally

A phone poll of the City of Montezuma’s mayor and council on Dec. 23, 2024 was held to consider a proposed Solid Waste Collection, Transportation and Disposal Agreement with TransWaste Services, LLC dba GFL Environmental that would run from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2029.

The transcript lists the poll participants and notes several call attempts and follow‑ups; it records that some council members’ votes were received via text or returned call but does not include a formal, line‑by‑line vote tally in the provided text. The poll entry identifies the subject as approval of the GFL contract but does not specify an outcome in the document excerpt.

The agreement text included in the record grants the contractor exclusive rights to collect residential and commercial solid waste within city limits and sets core service expectations: each residential unit is to receive a 95‑gallon cart serviced once per week; side‑door or back‑door service is provided to eligible elderly or disabled residents (with a physician’s affidavit) within 150 feet of the public roadway; commercial customers may receive 95‑gallon carts or front‑load containers with weekly or up to five‑day service; and the contractor will provide roll‑off containers for sludge haul from the Spring Creek Lab Waste Water Facility to Taylor County Landfill.

Financial and adjustment provisions in the contract excerpt include a per‑unit residential rate of $14.95 per month, an additional $10 per month for a second residential cart, commercial cart rates at $14.95 per cart per month, front‑load container rates that vary by size and frequency (Exhibit A), and roll‑off sludge hauling priced at $275 per haul plus $27.00 per ton for disposal (subject to change at the disposal facility). The Service Fee is subject to annual adjustment each Jan. 1 beginning in 2026 by the lesser of 2.5% or the CPI‑U table for water/sewer/trash collection; a fuel surcharge is specified to increase the fee by 1% for every $0.08 increase in diesel above $3.50/gallon, using the Energy Information Administration on‑highway diesel East Coast index.

The contract defines ‘‘Acceptable Solid Waste’’ and expressly lists ‘‘Unacceptable Solid Waste’’ (referencing the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other federal/state rules), requires contractor maintenance of carts (which remain contractor property), and sets insurance minimums and dispute resolution in Macon County. It also reserves that if curbside recycling is added later, terms will be negotiated.

The transcript and attached contract cite O.C.G.A. 36‑60‑13(a) for multi‑year contractual provisions and reference standard federal statutes when defining hazardous or unacceptable materials. The record shows the phone poll and the text of the agreement but does not attach a signed contract or a recorded final vote tally in the excerpt provided.

Next steps documented in the materials include standard notice, breach and cure provisions, and price‑adjustment mechanics; the contract language allows the city to terminate at the end of any calendar year during the initial term with 90 days’ written notice.