Trash service will stay the same for now
Staff writer
Westar Energy appears to be throwing its electrical power around by requiring entities, like the City of Marion, to enter into 20-year contracts.
City administrator David Mayfield reported Monday to Marion City Council that the city had two years remaining on the current contract.
Mayfield and city public works director Harvey Sanders have been in conversation with other cities and Westar Energy regarding the long-term issue.
A 20-year contract would prohibit the city from the possibility of getting a cheaper rate from another company or from purchasing its own power should there be a wind generation plant in the future, Mayfield said. Collaboration with other cities and Kansas Municipal Utilities organization, of which the city is a member, may result in an intervention by a regulatory commission to get the length of the contract changed but it also could be costly to pay attorney’s fees.
“Other cities will be facing the same dilemma,” Mayfield said.
He advised the council may need to give consideration to contributing funds to this cause.
Councilman Bill Holdeman said Westar Energy and other utility companies pass their expenses on to their customers.
“The city has $46,000 of bad debt which is going to get worse if we increase utilities,” Holdeman said.
Mayfield responded that the city is under contract with Westar Energy and the rates cannot be increased. The only increases are during peak demands which are set every year during the hottest part of the summer.
The council also discussed options regarding city refuse service.
A survey was available for customers to complete at the city’s website but only 45 people completed them.
Of those 45 people, 82 percent were in favor of once a week trash service and 53 percent were in favor of eliminating free trash bags. Mayor Mary Olson said 45 people was not a significant response and was not going to rely on that information to make a decision.
Holdeman said he talked with people who wanted to leave the twice a week trash pickup service as it is. Street superintendent Marty Fredrickson said his research has indicated there wouldn’t be that much time saved by going with once a week pickup. He also expressed his concern with the trash truck making it to the transfer station before it closes if there is only a once a week service.
When asked, city clerk Angela Lange said customers purchase quite a few bags from the city office.
With that, Olson made a motion to eliminate free trash bags. The motion died for a lack of a second.
“I think the county is going to force us into recycling,” councilman Stacey Collett said. He asked if it was feasible for the city to pick up trash one day and recyclables the next. Fredrickson responded that the trash trucks weren’t designed for that use.
Collett said the way he read it, the county is going with Stutzman Recycling.
Marion resident Margaret Wilson said Stutzman Recycling has a truck with two lifts — one side disposes paper products and the other side takes the other recyclables.
Collett then asked if the city could do it cheaper than someone else doing it. No final decisions were made.