Merriam explores idea of hiring single trash hauler for entire city

The city of Merriam is looking at contracting with one solid waste hauler for the entire city.

Following a recent community survey that showed a majority of residents want a single solid waste provider, the Merriam City Council on Monday expressed support for exploring a move to a singular citywide contract.

Currently, there are five licensed haulers in the city of Merriam that residents must work with privately to ensure trash is picked up from their curbs each week.

This new round of talks comes eight years after the last discussion about a single waste hauler, when the city council ultimately passed on the idea of contracting with one provider for the entire city.

No firm decisions have been made yet. City staff are now working to bring forward a proposed resolution reorganizing the city’s trash collection service that could go before the city council by October.

Here’s what residents said about the current trash service

• A five-page community survey that was mailed to a random sample of Merriam households earlier this year garnered 439 resident responses, more than the minimum goal of 400, according to the city.
• The results show that a majority of respondents — 36% who “strongly agree” and 29% who “agree” — think the city should enter into one citywide contract to offer trash and recycling services for all residents.
• Only 17% of respondents disagreed with the city entering a solid waste provider contract for all of Merriam, according to the survey results.
• The survey results show that 21% of respondents pay $81 to $100 for trash and 42% pay more than $100 for trash.
• Almost one-third of respondents pay for trash on a quarterly basis, according to the survey results.

Survey results at odds with some public comments

• Unlike the survey results, two public commenters on Monday night were less supportive of the prospect of a citywide single waste hauler.
• Sue Walston urged the council to further investigate a single waste hauler and allow for more public input than the community survey.
• Walston said that she’s heard from other residents that the survey question was poorly worded.
• Resident Billy Croan said moving to a single waste provider promotes socialism — a “con” for moving to a single waste hauler that was listed on city staff’s presentation — and that the city should opt to preserve capitalism by letting residents make their own choices about trash services.
• “I don’t think it’s in our city’s charter to be a trash hauler,” Croan added.

Councilmembers support moving forward cautiously

Councilmembers Jacob Laha and Staci Chivetta expressed support for moving forward with the process to move to a single solid waste provider.

Laha said the city council needs to listen to the community survey results that say this is a priority for residents, while Chivetta said she’s heard interest from Ward 4 residents.

Councilmembers Bruce Kaldahl and Whitney Yadrich supported the idea but noted that other problems could arise under a single waste hauler.

Yadrich said she liked the idea of using fines for single waste haulers missing pickups but noted that problems with missed and late pickups still remain in other Johnson County communities with a single waste hauler, like Prairie Village.

Kaldahl said the city needs to staff accordingly if it moves forward with a single waste hauler, which, from what he witnessed in a previous stint on the board of his homeowners association “is not a fun contract to manage.”

“I was on the (HOA) board 10 years ago when we went from trash bags to containers. Don’t underestimate how upset people get when you mess with their trash,” Kaldahl said.

City staff confirmed to Laha that the council can opt against changing the current trash collection system in Merriam at any point in the process, even if the city solicits and reviews bids from haulers.

Next steps:

• City staff will bring forward a resolution of intent to work on a single waste hauler contract as early as October.
• If the resolution moves forward, then staff will develop a plan later this year and bring forward a more specific resolution early next year that would establish a new citywide contract.
• There is an 18-month window between when a new contract would take effect and when residents have to quit working with their current solid waste provider, according to city documents.

Keep reading: Prairie Village has fined Republic Services $28K for recent rash of missed trash pickups