City Pursues Contract

Lowell To Keep Same Waste Removal Service

— Aldermen on Tuesday selected Deffenbaugh Industries as the preferred trash pickup service.

Deffenbaugh and Waste Management submitted proposals for the City Council to consider. Both companies would supply 96-gallon rolling carts for regular trash, according to the proposals.

Waste Management would also provide a 36-gallon recycling cart.

Deffenbaugh’s proposal includes a 65-gallon cart for recycling.

The carts are necessary because city leaders want to go to an automated pickup service.

Lowell aldermen authorized Shawn Ingram, city municipal service director, to proceed with contract negotiations with Deffenbaugh and report back to the council with a contract next month.

The Deffenbaugh proposal — at $9.25 per month — was $3 lower than the Waste Management proposal at $12.25.

Deffenbaugh has been servicing Lowell for five years. The cost of the existing contract to customers is $26.74 per quarter. The new rate, if approved by the council next month, would increase by $1.01 per quarter.

The new contract will also include a once-a-month pickup of bulky items, such as old furniture and yard waste removal.

Deffenbaugh is seeking a five-year contract with an annual review and three possible three-year contract extensions.

Pricing would be firm for the first two years of the contract, according to the proposal. In years three through five the trash service is asking for a 3 percent increase based on the Consumer Price Index, with the approval of the council, according to the proposal.

Aldermen wanted to know who is responsible for the carts should a cart become damaged or lost.

Bill Mathis from Deffenbaugh and George Wheatley from Waste Management said the carts would belong to the company and would be replaced at no cost to the customer.

Aldermen also approved the $193,500 purchase of software for the Lowell Police Department. The city plans to borrow the money from Regions Bank for five years at 2.44 percent interest.

The cost includes four additional years for a total of nine years of updates and maintenance on the software, according to city officials.

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