March 27. By Dave Vieser. There’ll be a new firm collecting waste in Cornelius starting July 1. Waste Pro of Concord will take over from Republic under a 10-year contract approved unanimously by the Town Board at a 40 minute special meeting Friday March 27.
In a first, the town board met virtually via Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a link you can forward to anyone wanting to view the meeting.
Pick-up days for trash, recycling and yard waste will remain the same, as will the containers, which are actually owned by the town.
Town staff negotiated a contract which keeps the costs identical to the existing contract.
“We had three firms bidding..Republic Services, Waste Connection, and Waste Pro” said Assistant Town Manager Tyler Beardsley.
“Waste Pro was the low bidder, and they also provide a comprehensive customer service platform for both citizens and staff. We were able to negotiate the price down from a bid rate of $16.92 to $16.20 per unit.” Additional costs to the town will only be incurred by annual Cost Per Living (CPI) Adjustments and the addition of new houses.
Waste Pro currently provides similar services to Davidson, Pineville, Mint Hill, Harrisburg as well as 14 other municipalities, mostly in the metro Charlotte area. Beardsley had contacted the other towns and all seem pleased with Waste Pro.
Also at Friday’s meeting, the commissioners approved two items related to the current coronavirus situation:
++A temporary amendment to the town’s personnel policy which authorizes the Town Manager to implement emergency personnel measures, such as granting additional sick leave for employees who contract the virus.
++A Title VI, Federal non-discrimination plan. Historically, the town has included required language in contracts and agreements, but has never had a formal plan. “The federal and state governments now require all local government partners that either receive direct funding or that partner in projects utilizing federal funding, to have an adopted Title VI Plan,” said Deputy Town Manager Wayne Herron.
“In order to partner with NCDOT on all upcoming highway and greenway projects, we need to adopt a Title VI plan now. In addition, the plan will be necessary for the Town to potentially receive FEMA reimbursement funding for the COVID-19 emergency or any future emergency declarations,” he said.
