County waits to accept bid for new waste management services
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to table a motion to select a bid on new waste management services for the county during its meeting Monday night.
Last meeting, Supervisors received bid proposals from Arrow Disposal Services, Inc., Waste Management of Mississippi, Inc. and Waste Pro. In December, supervisors unanimously approved a request for proposals (RFP) to advertise for a new service.
ADSI's rate per household totaled $9.22. The bid for recycling was $1,800 per drop-off location a month.
Waste Management of Mississippi's rate per household totaled $13.64, with recycling options not available.
Waste Pro's bid totaled $13.72 per household with a $100 cost per haul for recycling. They would provide a 40 cubic yard roll off container at no charge.
Supervisors voiced the remainder of their questions and concerns to the representatives of each company.
Those concerns included holiday hours, pick up for deer carcass containers and customer service. For customer service, supervisors specifically asked about trash receptacle replacement and care.
Each representative responded to supervisor's questions, saying they did not have an official number pertaining to the containers for the deer carcasses, because it was not listed in the RFP.
As for holiday hours, ADSI and Waste Management of Mississippi would only have two holidays. Waste Pro said they were restricted by the hours at the landfill.
Each representative said they would replace damaged cans and would be sure the treatment of each receptacle was acceptable.
District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery was pleased with each proposal, but said cost is a factor for him.
"I'm trying to find a way to keep the cost at a minimum while at the same time provide our customers of Oktibbeha County the best service possible," Montgomery said.
Montgomery said the price ADSI gave is the one he like the most.
Although there was some hesitation to make a decision on Monday night, District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller said she wanted to make the decision because a few supervisors won't be present for the next board meeting due to being out of town for a conference.
"I would hate to keep putting this off," Miller said. "I think we should try and make a decision tonight."
County Administrator Emily Garrard said she didn't feel comfortable moving forward with making a decision without the board attorney present.
"That was kind of my concern," District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard said.
Initially, Waste Management of Mississippi was not going to offer a recycling option, but before Monday's meeting, they provided a new option of a drop off recycling service included at no additional cost.
The representative from ADSI was concerned because there wasn't an offer at the initial bid opening. Garrard said the attorney would need to address the specifics before the board moved forward.
Miller made the motion to table the decision and the board agreed unanimously.