Waste Management has provided waste collection and disposal services to Lonsdale residents since 2005, but that could change soon.
At its Thursday meeting, the Lonsdale City Council discussed the possibility of contracting with West Central Sanitation after Waste Management’s contract expires March 31.
Every five years, the city of Lonsdale enters into a new contract with a residential waste disposal and collection service. Before the end of each five-year term, the city requests proposals from area providers. This time, West Central Sanitation submitted the lowest bid at just under $1 million. The difference between West Central’s bid and Waste Managements was about $142,000 over the term of the contract.
Based in Willmar with separate locations in Alexandria, Mankato and Redwood Falls, West Central Sanitation has a 41-year history in the waste disposal business. Owner Don Williamson, who attended Thursday’s meeting with one of his employees, said the company uses natural gas that hasn’t increased in price for five years.
Jay Nieson of Waste Management, who also attended the meeting, said the proposal Waste Management put forth is equal to or less than what residents paid in the past for services.
Based on his positive track record with Waste Management, Council member Steve Cherney was reluctant to choose the low-cost provider. In favor of maintaining a consistent synergy in the community, he said he’d rather renew a contract with Waste Management.
“This was a public bid, and it’s hard to go back and not go with the low bid,” said Council member Kevin Kodada. “It would be very hard to not go with West Central.”
City Administrator Joel Erickson clarified the City Council would not approve a contract that evening, but instead accept the bids and provide city staff with direction on the preferred services and provider.
With Council member Scott Pelava absent, the motion to approve staff’s direction to pursue a contract with West Central Sanitation passed 3 to 1 with Cherney voting nay.
At a special meeting March 5, the council will likely approve the contract with West Central Sanitation.
Should the city approve West Central as a new waste disposal service, the pick-up days would remain Thursdays and Fridays in Lonsdale.
Street project update
The City Council accepted a bid for the Second Avenue SW area street and utility improvement project. That award went to A-1 Excavating, Inc., which submitted the lowest of seven bids at approximately $1.8 million, about 3% higher than the engineer’s estimate of approximately $1.7 million.
In the same meeting, the City Council also approved the assessment roll for the project. That way, any potential assessment appeals could begin soon after. The interest rate for those who don’t immediately pay in full, determined by the City Council, was proposed at 5.3%. These assessments are proposed to be payable over 15 years.
Before the regular meeting, the City Council held a special assessment hearing regarding those who would be impacted by the project. A couple of local residents who attended the meeting stated their concerns after City Engineer John Powell presented an overview of the project, slated for a May or June start time.
One concern came from Lonsdale resident Steve Jakobitz, who noticed cracking in the road outside his home following a different construction project. After learning the material used was reclaimed, or ground from existing blacktop and reused, he advised the city to not use that method for the upcoming project.
Powell explained that reclaim is not the same everywhere, and it would not be used in the upcoming street project for permanent purposes, but it would serve a temporary purpose for access points. As for Jakobitz’s current road situation, Powell said he would look into the materials used and do a density testing.
After learning the project involved expanding an alleyway to 16 feet wide, Lonsdale resident Jeff Vanheel, present at the hearing, asked about the current width of the alley.
Powell said the width of the alleyway is about 8 feet, but varies. The goal of the project is to make it more uniform. For the project, the 16-foot portion refers to the right of way, not necessarily the alley itself. He agreed to meet with Vanheel on site to established the desired width of the subject location.
Mayor Tim Rud instructed residents to let the city or WSB Construction know of any other concerns and also advised affected residents to take photos of areas they may want to discuss.
“We hold contractors to repair to do things right,” said Rud.
Erickson also clarified that if residents have the ability to prepay their assessments, they must do so within 30 days of Feb. 27, and if not, they will be charged interest for the remainder of this year. Interest will accrue on property tax statements but won’t be reflected until the second year, so it will look like a double payment, he said.
Reporter Misty Schwab can be reached at 507-333-3135. Follow her on Twitter @APGmisty. ©Copyright 2020 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
