Continuing to fight county trash plan a mistake, Oakville reader contends

With any luck, the opponents of St. Louis County's plan to establish trash districts will give it a rest now that the Missouri Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit brought by three of the trash haulers adversely affected by the plan.

Keeping watch on the program to make sure it continues to benefit the citizens and is operated in an aboveboard manner is one thing, but continuing to fight it is a mistake in my opinion. As a result of the unsuccessful challenge, which caused the low bidder, Aspen Waste Systems, to withdraw its low bids to service the 6th and 8th trash districts, customers will have to pay more under the plan than they otherwise would have.

However, based on my experience, I suspect that most customers would probably be paying a lot more than if the plan did not exist.

I am currently served by Allied Waste and have seen my bill rise steadily over the past year, primarily due to an ever-increasing surcharge titled "Total fuel/environmental recovery fee."My first bill from Allied for the county-required minimum level of service, covering April 1 through June 30, was $18.54 per month. My second — and final — bill, covering service from July 1 through Sept. 30, was $19.26 per month — an increase of 3.86 percent.

Beginning Oct. 1, I will be served by Veolia under the county plan and have been advised that I will pay a fixed charge of $12.40 per month for the first year of service, $12.83 per month for the second year and $13.28 per month for the third year.This means I will see an immediate 35.6-percent price decrease and annual increases of 3.46 percent and 3.5 percent thereafter. And if I were over 65, I would qualify for an additional 10-percent discount.

I've switched haulers in the past in order to lower my cost, but as an individual I doubt that any of the haulers would have offered me the deal I will get under the county trash district plan, especially at fixed rates for three years. It's too bad that some haulers were not able to compete, but that's because competitive bidding is not like a T-ball game for the little tykes where everyone wins.

I consider myself an independent voter and am therefore willing to give credit where credit is due. I have to say that the then-Republican-controlled County Council knew what it was doing after all when it voted to implement the plan.

In the face of the vocal opposition from his constituents, I can understand Mr. Campisi's decision to repudiate his vote in favor of the plan. However, I was surprised at his willingness to blame his fellow Republican, Mr. Mange, for misleading him about the plan, which presumably would not have been possible had Mr. Campisi done the work required to fully understand the plan before voting in the first place.
. . . . Gerald M. Kulage - Oakville

Judge Throws Out Trash Suit

A lawsuit filed last month against St. Louis County to stop the county's trash program was thrown out by a St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge. The suit stated the county failed to give haulers two year's notice as required by state law. Circuit Judge Steven H. Goldman ruled that the county ordinance takes precedence over the state statute.

American Eagle Waste Co., said all three haulers would appeal. The county's trash plan was established after residents in unincorporated areas complained about multiple hauling companies serving the same neighborhoods.

The county selected a single hauler for each district except in subdivisions that opted out of the program. Residents in these subdivision report that they are being gouged by the trash haulers since they are not a part of the County's trash district. Rates quoted are upwward to 75% higher.
County Executive Charlie Dooley hailed the judge's ruling on Wednesday as a "victory for all residents." "We're saving people money and giving them good service," he said. As one county resdient said, "Dooley is missing the point again. It's not a question of "money" but "freedom of choice."

St. Louis County Council approved two more contracts with:

— IESI in District 2, which covers the Spanish Lake area. IESI's monthly charge for the basic service would rise from $12.03 in the first year to $13.07 in the third.

— Veolia Environmental Services in District 4 in southwestern St. Louis County. Its monthly charge would be $12.25 in the first year, rising to $13.25 in the third.

Last week, Aspen Waste Systems, which had won the contracts to serve Districts 6 and 8, withdrew its bids, citing what it said were economic risks posed by the lawsuit.

County officials said they would ask the County Council to award contracts to the next lowest bidders, Allied Waste Co. in District 6 and IESI in District 8. The districts include Lemay, Mehlville and Oakville.

Dooley On Hot Seat and He's Starting to Feel It

County Executive Charlie Dooley is feeling the heat in regards to his non-functioning trash and recycling program.

First, a lawsuit has been filed to halt the County’s trash program. This is making its way through the legal system and could result in some additional changes.

Second, ASPEN withdrew their bid from the County as hauler for two districts previously announced. ASPEN’s attorney advised against proceeding stating the lawsuit has merit and advised against purchasing additional equipment to provide the service.

Third, Veolia is a huge, worldwide business with their home offices in Paris, France. Unfortunately, the company has a known record of corruption in many areas of the world to include the U. S. You can research information with an Internet search on “Veolia, corruption.” So this raises some ethical questions with many whether to do business with a company with this record or not.

Fourth, Veolia stands ready to start servicing District 3 as of July 1, but Veolia has jacked up their rates from just three weeks ago to subdivisions which opted out. Veolia has also increased charges to west county residents in Manchester/Ballwin area with a $3.50 fee to send a paper invoice.

Fifth, a subdivision trustee reports he made a general inquiry to Veolia on Monday, June 23 to obtain their current rates and received a quote of over $21.75 per month. It's felt if the county looses the lawsuit, Veolia will not even provide the service.

Sixth, Allied Waste, a hauler also selected by St. Louis County, was just purchased by another large waste company. So now Allied becomes a part of an even bigger company.

What's Mr. Dooley have to say about all this?

"The county counselor is my pick for county counselor," Dooley said. "Secondly, I have the utmost confidence in that individual. So when that individual's speaking for this county, she's speaking for me as the chief elected official of the county. And whatever she does has a hundred percent of my backing. If I didn't have any confidence in her, she wouldn't be here ... That's my responsibility. And I stand by it. With all of my directors, that's my responsibility. So don't fault her. It's a policy decision. It's my decision ... If you have a problem with that, you need to address it with me. Please do not ask my directors for their resignation without addressing me first."

"Our attorney's been an attorney for 25 years with the County Charter," Dooley said. "I would suggest to you that she has much more wise counsel than you have."

"I didn't know you were an attorney and you can actually evaluate wording because we've got an attorney that does it very well," Dooley told Diehl. "What you're saying is it's all right to charge people more for trash pickup when we can get a competitive bid ..." My second thought tonight is for you to just indicate that you have some kind of grasp of law is beyond me ... that because you can read it, you have a grasp of the law."Apparently, not the County Charter. If you did, you would know better.

And thirdly, on various occasions you have had the audacity to come before this council with some kind of cockamamie story about what you think is right and what we think is wrong ... To indicate that anybody on this council would do something that would not be in the best interest of the citizens of this county is ridiculous."

Hello?

Aspen Withdraws Trash Bids - Says Pending Litigation Against County Has Merit

Information provided by the County Council Chair, Kathleen Burkett, at last night's Council meeting was somewhat misleading regarding action taken by Aspen Waste Systems. Aspen informed the County they were withdrawing their bid to provide trash service in two districts previously awarded to them. Burkett's statement did not include mention of the litigation against the county in regards to the full statement from Aspen's legal counsel.

In notifying the County, Chris St. Peters, General Manger of Aspen Waste Systems, said, "Our counsel has made us aware that the pending matters may have merit and ordering equipment at this time that may or may not be utilized could be a detriment to our company."

Pending litigation again St. Louis County by Waste Management, Meridian Waste and American Eagle may cause the County to give a two year notice before implementing a county wide trash program. This whole situation is turning into an 800 lb. gorilla.

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County Announces Remaining Bids for Trash Districts; 4 Haulers Selected for Entire County

St. Louis County opened the remaining bids on May 28 for the last four of eight trash collection districts. Four trash haulers out of an estimated 20 haulers in the county have been selected to serve the eight districts. All other haulers will technically be “banned” unless they are selected by any subdivisions that chose to opt-out of the County’s program. Approximately 311 subdivisions have opted-out.

Aspen Waste Systems Inc. of Earth City submitted the low bid in Districts 6 and 8, which include Lemay, Mehlville and Oakville. The company's bid is $11.31 a month in the first year, rising to $12.11 in the third year. The service includes once-a-week trash and recyclables pickups and twice a year bulky waste collections.

IESI was the low bidder in District 2, which covers the Spanish Lake area. Its monthly charge for the basic service would rise from $12.03 in the first year to $13.07 in the third.

In District 4 in southwest St. Louis County, Veolia Environmental Services submitted the apparent low bid of $12.25 a month in the first year to $13.25 in the third. Veolia has captured three of the eight trash districts awarded by the County.

County officials will review them and ask the county council to award contracts. The haulers would start service on Oct. 1.

The trash district haulers selected by the County for all eight districts are with prices shown for the first year.

District 1 – IESI - $12.09
District 2 – IESI - $12.03
District 3 – Veolia Environmental Services - $11.60
District 4 – Veolia Environmental Services - $12.25
District 5 – Allied Waste - $12.29
District 6 – Aspen Waste Systems - $11.31
District 7 – Veolia Environmental Services - $ 12.40
District 8 – Aspen Waste Systems - $11.31