City residents will have new garbage hauler, lower rates

By Randy Hanson

The city of Hudson will have a new garbage hauler come the first of the year.

Monday night, the City Council accepted a low bid by Superior Services to provide curbside pickup through 2004. Waste Management will lose the work when its current contract expires at the end of the year.

City residents will pay less for garbage and recycling pickup as a result of the council's decision to accept bids on a new contract instead of renewing Waste Management's contract with a cost adjustment.

Superior's bid will result in a 5.8 percent rate reduction for residents who set out 30 gallons of garbage each week, a 9.2 percent reduction for those with 60-gallon containers, and a 12.3 percent reduction for residents with 90-gallon containers.

Overall, Superior's bid was 2.7 percent lower than Waste Management's new bid.

Waste Management, which initially asked for a 3 percent increase in rates, also submitted a bid containing lower rates than city residents are now paying. City officials credited the bidding process for bringing down the rates.

Discussion of the new contract Monday night centered on which garbage hauler has the best landfill.

Doug Wagner, district manager for Waste Management, told the council that the Timberland Trails Landfill in Rusk County that his company uses was built in 1995. He implied that it offers better protection against a future lawsuit resulting from pollutants seeping into the groundwater than the Seven Mile Creek Landfill at Eau Claire that Superior Services uses.

James Judkins, general manager of Superior Services' Eau Claire and Roberts operations, said both landfills are state-of-the-art, state-approved facilities.

The argument also failed to convince a majority of council members. Alderman Ronald Troyer said there's no guarantee that a landfill built in 1995 is any safer than an older one.

City Attorney William Radosevich said it would take an engineering study to determine which landfill is the best constructed. He said that even if the city were sued for pollution years from now, it probably wouldn't be that expensive because of the many users that now share landfills.

Alderwoman Judy Kelly initially moved to postpone a decision on the contract for two weeks to allow time to look into the landfill issue. She withdrew the motion, however, when it became apparent that a majority on the council wanted to approve the contract with Superior Services.

Troyer made the motion to contract with the new waste hauler. It was seconded by Alderwoman Cathy Morris and passed on a voice vote.