Mandatory trash pick-up decision delayed

RED OAK — Red Oak’s City Council delayed a decision on mandatory trash pickup last week, pending consideration of hiring a consultant to study the issue.
About 75 people attended the Council meeting, which was moved to the Fire Station to accommodate the large crowd, although no public comment was solicited or given.
The idea formed from a committee created about two months ago, with the goal of cleaning up Red Oak. Councilmen Ivan Craig and Roger Waggener both serve on the committee.
“We discussed several options on how to improve the cleanliness of the City,” Craig said.  “When rubber meets the road, its garbage laying around not being collected … and we felt first to institute mandatory garbage pickup, and then move on from there.”
Waggener pointed out state law requires trash pick-up.
“Fifteen to 20 percent of people in town don’t have garbage pickup,” he said.
City Administrator Brad Wright said he contacted a consulting firm, Barker-LeMar, which would be able to conduct a study for the City, at the cost of $5,000-$7,5000. For that report, the firm would discuss positives and negatives of open and contracted garbage collection; interview similar sized communities in Iowa that have dealt with the issue to present their history; discuss strategies used to develop contracts for garbage collection; and present their findings to the Council.
While not agreeing to the study, the Council did want to discuss the proposal further with a Barker-LeMar representative at its next meeting.
“I certainly would like to see some study done on this issue,” Councilman Larry Brandstetter said. “When we talk about waste, we aren’t just talking about garbage … there are a lot of areas that need to be studied. There are some very simple questions we need to find answers to before we decide if we want to move forward or stay with what we have.”
Wastewater Bid
After postponing its decision two weeks, Red Oak’s City Council chose Oakview Construction as the primary contractor for City’s wastewater treatment plant project.
Oakview submitted a bid of $6,797,000 on June 30 for the contract, exactly $1,000 more than the bid from Eriksen Construction Company, in Blair, Neb.
With two bids coming in so close, the Council postponed its decision, allowing for time to consult with City Attorney Tom Stammets.
Stammets attended the meeting last week, and informed the Council based on his interpretation of state law, they were not required to accept the low bid if the higher one was in the best interests of the City.
With Oakview Construction based in Red Oak, instead of Nebraska, the Council felt confident they could justify choosing the higher bid.
“They both benefit the local economy to a certain extent,” Councilman Mark Gregg said. “But with their (Oakview) corporate office here locally, they will benefit the local economy much more. It will keep local employees working so it may keep unemployment numbers down.”
Council also pointed out the accessibility of Oakview management as another benefit.