By Ray King
By a vote of 5 to 4, the Pine Bluff City Council voted Thursday to hire a new company to collect the city’s garbage.
Mayor Vivian Flowers cast the deciding vote and will now sign a five-year contract with CARDS Holdings LLC which will become effective Nov.1.
After the meeting, Flowers was asked about the decision.
Also voting yes were council members Glen Brown Jr., Bruce Lockett, LaTisha Brunson and Yvonne Denton.
Voting no were council members Steven Mays, Lloyd Holcomb, Lanette Frazier and William Fells.
At a previous meeting, Lockett voted against CARDS, saying he was going to stick with the home team because Waste Management had been good to the city. This time around he changed his vote and he explained why.
The current company that collects garbage, Waste Management of Arkansas has done that for 35 years and this was the first time that the city has sought other vendors for the service. That was prompted in part by multiple complaints by residents of poor service by Waste Management.
Earlier this year the council voted to pay a consulting firm $40,000 to seek proposals from companies interested in providing garbage service. Those proposals were then compiled and presented to a city committee consisting of eight people who ranked the proposals.
Flowers said seven of the eight people on that committee ranked CARDS as their top choice.
In addition, they provide service to multiple cities in Arkansas including Russellville, Springdale, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. They also collect garbage in cities in Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
The Mayor said the company has agreed to give current Waste Management employees the first opportunity to apply for jobs with CARDS. They will also set up a local call center to accept complaints.
The contract will also provide that the company can be fined for service lapses, and they will provide daily reports to the city. The fines will be paid to the city and credited to customers without extra paperwork.
