Hailing a hauler harder than ever

Cities are paying extra for clean-up

The bills are climbing for cities trying to get roadside piles of hurricane debris removed, with some rates doubling and, in some cases, tripling. And, with trucks now headed to Puerto Rico, it’s not going to get any easier, one hauler told the Pembroke Pines City Commission. “Alligator” Ron Bergeron, who runs Sun Bergeron, is calling on the governor to set a uniform price for debris removal.

PEMBROKE PINES — The bills are climbing for cities trying to get roadside piles of Hurricane Irma debris removed as quickly as possible — with some rates being charged doubling and, in some cases, tripling.

And it’s not going to get any easier, one hauler told Pembroke Pines City Commission Monday. Now, in addition to the unprecedented situation of having nearly the whole state needing debris removal trucks, even more of them will be going to Puerto Rico, to clean up after Hurricane Maria.

The laws of supply and demand have put hauling trucks at a premium.

“It’s a four-month event, and we shouldn’t be bidding against each other,” said “Alligator” Ron Bergeron, who runs Sun Bergeron, a hauling company.

Bergeron is calling on the governor to set a uniform price for debris removal, a sentiment that had city leaders nodding their heads Monday.

Bergeron said he would honor the pre-storm contract with Pembroke Pines at $7 per yard — even though some cities are paying $23 a yard. Tamarac and Deerfield Beach are meeting Wednesday to discuss

whether to pay the amount their emergency debris hauler, AshBritt Environmental, is asking.

What’s not clear is whether FEMA will reimburse cities who pay haulers more than the prestorm contract calls for, said Deerfield Beach Mayor Bill Ganz.

Trash haulers “chasing dollars is nothing but them holding us over a barrel and leaving us with prices that are pure price gouging,” Ganz said.

AshBritt explained in a letter to Tamarac: “Despite responding to [Hurricane]

Harvey some two weeks earlier, Ashbritt did muster the needed equipment, manpower, facilities and fuel needed to safely and effectively commence cleanup operations in [Tamarac]. It has diligently attempted to respond and perform, but requires these rate increases to retain and engage additional qualified subcontractors.”

Soon after Irma’s winds died down, Pompano Beach decided to pay AshBritt $14.50 a yard instead of its pre-storm contract rate of $7.50 a yard — going ahead without FEMA’s assurances the higher rate would be reimbursed. The city has removed some 60,000 cubic yards of debris so far.

“Our mayor and city commission made the decision from a public safety perspective that it is vital to get the debris picked up in a timely manner,” said Sandra King, Pompano’s spokeswoman.

Pembroke Pines decreed Monday that it would go ahead and pick up trash inside gated communities without FEMA’s assurance the city would get reimbursed.

Last week, Weston opted to wait for FEMA to clarify its gated community policy.

“Absent an approval from FEMA, the city will not remove debris from private rights-of-way or gated communities,” City Manager John Flint wrote in an email last week.

Hollywood, meanwhile, is telling its residents where they might want to take their own trash to the dump if they want it done quickly.

“Do we have some haulers working in our community? Yes,” said Raelin Storey, Hollywood city spokeswoman. “It’s not the number we expected, so the debris removal is not moving as quickly as we expected it to be.”

Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo lamented the situation: “What we have going on here is a situation that defies all the good planning that this city and other cities have done.”