Three-year trash collection contract awarded

Come January, there will be a new contracted hauler picking up the trash and recyclables from borough homes.

The current $1.7 million three-year contract with J.P. Mascaro & Sons, which was the first single-hauler contract for Souderton, expires at the end of the year.

“The bids were very competitive again, as we saw the first round,” Borough Manager Mike Coll said at Souderton Borough Council’s Oct. 1 meeting.

Advanced Disposal Services, of Norristown, was the low bidder, with a threeyear price of $1,374,504.72, he said. Bid tabulation sheets showed there were five bidders, with Advanced offering to do the work for $433,402.20 next year, $457,613.52 in 2020 and $483,489 in the third and final year of the contract.

There were initially some concerns because Advanced will be using side-loading automated equipment for the pickups, Coll said, but he said the company appears to have put a lot of thought into the use of the equipment.

Advanced will be starting out primarily with traditional rear-loading trucks, then switching later to the automated equipment, he said.

In answer to questions from council member Jeff Gross about dealing with unique situations for the Souderton pickups, Mark Talbott, Advanced’s general manager, said that shouldn’t be a problem.

“We feel very confident we can service the borough, very confident that as we come up with items that are unique to the borough that we’ll adjust,” he said.

The trucks are actually manual/automated, not

fully automated, he said. The driver can get out of the truck and put items in if needed or can use the automated arm for pickups, Talbott said.

One of the advantages for the company in the Souderton contract is that the company has trucks in the area surrounding the borough on the same days and can have those trucks come do some of the pickups if needed, he said.

The arms make pickups on only one side of the road, so the truck may go down one side of the street, then follow a route that loops around and returns for the

other side of the street later, he said.

The automated trucks are safer than ones that have helpers crossing the street to get totes from both sides of the street, Talbott and council member Richard Godshall said.

Being a helper on the trash trucks is among the most dangerous jobs because of the risk of being hit by another driver, they said.

“I think the automated trucks are good,” Godshall said. “I think it will be good for us, but change is always a little bit challenging.”

Godshall said he initially had questions about the

possibility of trash blowing away as the automated system dumps the totes into the truck but said that shouldn’t be a problem with the trucks Advanced will be using.

Collections will continue to be on the same day of the week as now, Talbott said. Half of the about 1,800 collections are done on Thursday and half on Friday.

Following the meeting, Coll said the bill to borough residents for trash and recyclables collections with the tote system is expected to remain the same at least for 2019. That rate is $60 per

quarter-year. There probably will be an increase in the cost of bags for those using the bag system, he said.

Programs on opioids, vaping

A “Community Efforts to Protect Our Children From the Risk of Substance Use” program will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at Indian Crest Middle School, Souderton Borough police Chief James Leary said.

The town hall program is being presented by the Indian Valley Character Counts! Coalition in collaboration with the Penn Foundation, Sellersville Pharmacy and the Souderton Borough Police Department, program information says.

“It’s going to be a very, very informative night. Please invite anybody that would like to learn something about the opioids that are impacting our community,” Leary said.

It will also include a preview of a Community Action Plan addressing substance abuse and mental health issues, according to program information.

“Clearing the air about vaping” will be presented by the Souderton Area School District and the Montgomery County Office of Drug & Alcohol at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Indian Valley Middle School.

“Kids are wired to try new things. The current trend, both nationally and locally, is vaping. Along with other risky behaviors, this is something we need to have a conversation about, as parents and as a community that cares,” program information says.

Registration is required for the vaping presentation; it can be done at sasdvaping.eventbrite.com.

Registration is not required for the Community Efforts presentation.

Car show donation

The Oct. 1 meeting also included the donation of money raised from a car show held by East Penn Modifiers Club during the borough’s celebratory weekend in June.

There were close to 100 cars in the show, ranging from Model Ts to new models, Leary said.

“They brought probably close to 400 people into our

community, and they had a real excellent car show,” he said.

The amount raised by East Penn’s car shows in Souderton increases each year, Jim Hunsberger, one of the club’s leaders, said.

This year’s event brought in $1,600, with $800 going to the Indian Valley Boys & Girls Club and $800 to Keystone Opportunity Center, he said.

“Good causes,” Hunsberger said while making the check presentations. “Both of them are very good causes.”