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Trash, recycling collection days changing soon

Trash, recycling collection days changing soon

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria’s new trash and recycling collection days take effect on Monday, Oct. 6.

Trash will be collected on Tuesdays and Fridays instead of on Mondays and Thursdays. Recycling collections will occur on Tuesdays for the northwestern half of the city and on Thursdays for the southeastern half of the city. Yard waste collections will continue on Mondays.

Waste Management recently distrib­uted a press release that said, “And for convenience, and to reduce curbside clutter, Waste Management is providing side-door collection service for trash, recycling and containerized yard waste for all residents. Bundled yard waste should still be placed curbside.”

Side-door service entails Waste Manage­ment employees retrieving trash and recycling receptacles from the side of the residential property, emptying them and returning them to the side of the house.

The change in service days occurs at a time when Mayor Mark Short and others remain displeased with Waste Management’s performance with the side-door service that’s now mandatory for all residential properties, including homesteaded permanent residences.

On Aug. 14, city commissioners approved the change in service days requested by Waste Management and amended the city’s existing agreement with the company. The amended agreement requires Waste Management to provide side-door service for all residential properties at no additional cost for the remaining months of the agreement that expires in June. The citywide side-door service was supposed to take effect immediately. Side-door service was previously required, at an additional cost, only for non-homesteaded residential properties, including short-term vacation rentals.

When considering the change in service days, the mayor and commissioners expressed concerns about Waste Manage­ment’s past side-door service performance. On Sept. 25, they revisited those concerns.

“I’ve been experimenting,” Short told the commission. “I’ve been taking my trash out from behind the (house) and putting it on my driveway. Last week, the trash got picked up and the recycling guy didn’t pick anything up. This week, neither got picked up on Monday.”

Short said his wife, Pat, called Waste Management and a customer service rep told her their trash was supposed to be picked up on Tuesday. At the time, the change in service days had not yet occurred. Pat then spoke to a customer service supervisor who said their residence wasn’t signed up for side-door service.

The mayor then emailed Waste Manage­ment Government Affairs Manager Brenna Haggar and he was told these concerns would be investigated.

“Today, trash day, I took my trash can halfway down my driveway, not all the way to the street, and they didn’t pick it up again,” Short told the commission.

When speaking to a customer service supervisor, the mayor was told the company had no record of Anna Maria requiring side-door service.

“But they’ve been perfect on my street,” Commissioner Chris Arendt said, noting he’s had side-door service for the past two weeks.

After noting that Waste Management District Manager Chris Sawallich attended the Aug. 14 meeting, Short said, “He knows what they’re supposed to be doing. They have failed miserably.”

Commissioner Charlie Salem said, “If they’re not living up to their end of the bargain, should we reconsider moving our services days to accommodate them? If they can’t pick up the mayor’s trash right, I’m not sure we should have confidence they’re going to pick up anybody’s trash right.”

“That’s a legal question,” Short said.

During past discussions, Short said the city will seek proposals from other companies when considering the renewal of the Waste Management agreement next summer.

Waste Management changes approved

Waste Management changes approved

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – City commissioners unanimously approved Waste Management’s request to make side-door trash and recycling service mandatory for all residential properties effective immediately.

When doing so, on Aug. 14, the commission also approved Waste Management’s request to switch its current trash and recycling collection days from Mondays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Fridays beginning in early October. Waste Management will then divide its weekly recycling collections between Tuesday and Fridays and landscaping debris collections will continue on Mondays. As an additional concession provided to the city, Waste Management is already emptying several beach access dumpsters every Saturday at no additional cost to the city.

The commission-approved changes required formal amendments to be made to the franchise agreement the city has with Waste Management. Entered into around 2019, the current agreement expires next June. Before that expiration date, the city will seek new proposals from Waste Management and other companies interested in providing those exclusive services in which the city shares a small percentage of the revenues.

Side-door service

Ideally, side-door service entails Waste Management employees retrieving trash and recycling containers from the side of a residential property, emptying the containers and returning them to the side of the house after they’ve been emptied.

Before the franchise agreement was amended last week, the agreement required all non-homesteaded residential properties (including short-term vacation rentals) to use side-door service at an additional monthly cost.

The owners of homesteaded residential properties were not required to use side-door trash and recycling service.

Despite the city’s side-door service requirement set forth in the fran­chise agreement and the additional costs incurred by non-homesteaded property owners, Waste Manage­ment employees frequently left the emptied trash and recycling contain­ers out by the street rather than returning them to the side of the house. This resulted in complaints frequently expressed by the current mayor and commission, the previous mayor and commissioners and many residents.

In an effort to resolve those concerns and complaints, it’s hoped that requiring side-door trash and recycling service for all residential properties will eliminate the confu­sion as to who’s supposed to receive side-door service and who isn’t.

Regarding trash and recycling containers still brought to the street by unknowing vacation rental guests or property owners, Waste Management District Manager Chris Sawallich said, “If they are out at the curb, we’re going to take them back to the house.”

Sawallich said Waste Manage­ment’s public outreach team will provide impacted residents and property owners with more informa­tion about the changes taking place now and in October.

During the pilot program now in effect and continuing until the cur­rent agreement expires next June, non-homesteaded property owners and others who’ve been paying extra for side-door service will no longer be charged that additional fee. Homesteaded property owners who didn’t desire or require side-door service won’t be charged extra for the mandatory service that no longer requires them to bring their trash and recycling containers out to the street and retrieve them after they’ve been emptied.

During a previous meeting in July, Waste Management Government Affairs Manager Brenna Haggar said that residential rates might be “recalculated” if Waste Management enters into a new franchise agree­ment with the city next summer.

Waste Management proposes mandatory side-door service

Waste Management proposes mandatory side-door service

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – As part of Waste Management’s ongoing efforts to obtain city commission approval to switch Anna Maria’s trash and recycling collection days from Mondays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Fridays, the company is proposing making side-door service mandatory for all residential properties.

Addressing concerns expressed by the mayor and city commissioners about Waste Management’s current performance level on side-door collection service, Waste Management Government Affairs Manager Brenna Haggar made the proposal to the mayor and commis­sioners on July 24, and commissioners were receptive to the idea.

City code currently requires side-door trash and recycling service for all non-homesteaded residential proper­ties, including short-term vacation rentals and secondary vacation homes. Side-door service is not mandatory for primary residences that qualify for the county property tax homestead exemp­tion. According to Waste Management, approximately 80% of Anna Maria’s residential properties already have side-door service, including many that are not required to have it.

During past discussions, the mayor and commissioners frequently expressed concerns about emptied trash and recycling receptacles being left by the street and not being returned to the side of the property as required by city code. Haggar said mandatory side-door service for all residential properties would eliminate the confusion experienced by Waste Management personnel as to which properties require their trash and recycling receptacles to be retrieved from the side of the property, emptied and returned to the side of the prop­erty, currently at an additional cost to the property owner.

Haggar said homesteaded property owners would not initially be charged the additional side-door service fee during the pilot program that would continue until June, when Waste Management’s current contract with the city expires. Haggar said the rates for homesteaded property owners would then be recalculated if Waste Management continues to serve as the city’s exclusively-contracted solid waste service after the contract expires. Before then, the city will also solicit bids from other solid waste service providers.

If the proposed changes are ap­proved by the city commission, which will require an amendment to the current contract, the collection day schedule change and the mandatory side-door service for all residential properties would take effect Oct. 1.

Related coverage:
Commission considering changes to trash collection schedule
Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance

Commission considering changes to trash collection schedule

Commission considering changes to trash collection schedule

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – City commissioners want to see improvements to Waste Management’s current side-door trash and recycling collection services while still considering the company’s request to switch Anna Maria’s trash collection days from Mondays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Fridays.
Waste Management also wants to change recyclable collections to half of the city on Tuesdays and half of the city on Fridays, with yard waste still collected on Mondays.
On July 10, Waste Management representatives Brenna Haggar, Luigi Pace and Chris Sawallich presented the company’s request to Mayor Mark Short and the city commissioners. No final decisions were made and the commissioners stressed the need for Waste Management to first improve its side-door trash and recycling collection efforts that have fallen far short of the city’s expectations and have been the subject of several commission discussions.
Side-door service entails a Waste Management employee retrieving the trash and recyclable receptacles from the side of a home, emptying them and returning them to the side of the home rather than leaving them at the end of the driveway or alongside the street, where they sometimes sit for days. All non-homesteaded residential properties in Anna Maria, including short-term vacation rentals, are required to use side-door service, which comes at an additional cost.
Haggar serves as Waste Management’s government affairs manager.
“I’m not saying we’re perfect. We know that. With the side-door service, there’s always opportunities for improvement,” she said during her opening remarks.
She noted the company now provides the city with weekly Saturday beach access point dumpster and receptacle collections at no additional cost to the city, rather than the five holiday weekend collections set forth the company’s current contract with the city. That exclusive contract and revenue sharing franchise agreement expires next June.
Haggar told commissioners Manatee County is switching to carted, automated solid waste collections on Oct. 6. Automated collections utilize trucks equipped with mechanical arms that grab and empty the receptacle carts placed curbside while the driver remains in the truck. This eliminates the need for a second employee to manually empty the receptacles.
Haggar said the county wants all its contracted solid waste service providers to operate on the same days when that October change occurs. She said the county’s request will require a significant change in Waste Management’s current route planning and staffing assignments.
“If we don’t make these changes, on Mondays we would need twice the number of trucks, twice the number of drivers only on Mondays. And then those drivers and trucks would be sitting idle the rest of the week. It’s not sustainable for us,” Haggar said.
The Waste Management team did not propose automated collections for Anna Maria.

“Monday pickup is after the busy weekend. That’s when you have the most trash,” Commissioner Gary McMullen said. “That’s when I believe it should be picked up. It shouldn’t matter to me because I have side-door (service), but it does, because they don’t always do that.”
“We hear you loud and clear about the side-door service. That is something that needs a solution,” Haggar acknowledged.
“I think the difference between Thursday and Friday is fairly minimal. But there are probably a lot more (vacation rental) checkouts on a Monday than there are on a Tuesday,” Commissioner Charlie Salem said when noting the proposed Tuesday collections would result in trash accumulating over the weekend and sitting uncollected for an additional
day.
Salem wants to see side-door service improved before he supports changing the collection schedule.
“A lot of this hinges on whether or not that gets solved, and it’s been a problem for quite a while. I don’t have a ton of confidence that there’s a magic bullet out there for that,” he said.
He also noted Waste Management recently imposed a 3% cost increase on its Anna Maria customers.
Commissioners Chris Arendt, John Lynch and Kathy Morgan-Johnson agreed with Salem and share those same concerns.
“We really need to understand the impact of the rental weekends, what that looks like and how that affects the trash pile going to Tuesday versus Monday,” Lynch said.
Lynch said it’s also important for side-door service customers to receive the service they’re paying for.
It was noted that 80% of the Anna Maria’s residential properties currently have side-door service and the Waste Management truck drivers are supposed to use their digital, in-truck tablets to identify which properties require that service.
McMullen suggested a simpler solution: Placing easily identifiable stickers on receptacles that require side-door service. As an alternative, he suggested requiring all residential properties to have side-door service.
He said that would eliminate any confusion as to which properties require that service, but he also noted that some residents who bring their receptacles to the street and back themselves won’t want to pay the additional fee. The Waste Management team said they’d get back to the commission with an estimate on customer pricing for mandatory
side-door service citywide.

“I think there’s a lot to discuss,” Salem said as the discussion ended
with no final decisions proposed or voted on regarding the proposed
change to the current collection days.

Commission discusses pier lease, parking fines, Waste Management

Commission discusses pier lease, parking fines, Waste Management

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – City Pier tenant requests, increased parking fines and ongoing service issues with Waste Management were among the topics discussed during the June 26 Anna Maria City Commission meeting.

The meeting began with Manatee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chief Matt Myers giving a short presentation at the request of Mayor Mark Short. Short said he plans to take full advantage of EOC resources this storm season and do a better job of communicating with the county’s emergency operations team regarding hurricane preparation and response.

Window coverage

The commission approved on first reading an ordinance that upon second reading and final adoption will increase from 20% to 80% the window coverage businesses are allowed for window signs and other promotional materials. The ordinance requires businesses to maintain a 6-inch vertical visibility strip on each window so first respond­ers can look inside before entering.

Commission discusses pier lease, parking fines, Waste Management
Anna Maria businesses will soon be allowed to cover 80% of each window with signage and other messaging. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Parking fines

The commission adopted a resolution that increases the city’s parking ticket fine from $50 to $75 in an effort to discourage beachgoers and other motorists from viewing a $50 parking ticket as an accept­able price to pay to park for the day. Now in effect, the resolution also increases the fine for parking in a handicapped space from $225 to $250. Violators of any parking offense in Anna Maria can be ticketed every two hours for the same ongoing violation.

Pier tenants

The commissioners shared with the mayor their opinions on several requests recently presented by City Pier Grill tenants Brian Seymour, Vic Mattay and Nick Graham.

Commission discusses pier lease, parking fines, Waste Management
The City Pier buildings remain stranded with no pedestrian walkway. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The pier tenants’ initial five-year lease expires on Dec. 31 but can be automatically extended for an addi­tional 15 months or so to account for the time lost to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton. Short hopes to reopen the pier in October 2026 and the pier tenants also have to decide if they want to renew their lease for another five years.

The commissioners support placing a permanent, open-air roof structure over the uncovered T-end seating area, but they want the roofline to match the roofline of the adjacent building occupied by Mote Marine so people can still fish off the far end of the pier.

The commissioners support drink rails being attached to the inside of the roof covering support beams but Com­missioner Kathy Morgan-Johnson doesn’t want the additional seating provided by the rail stools to be used to obtain a liquor license. Johnson is OK with the existing beer and wine sales, but she doesn’t support liquor being served in a public area often populated by children.

The commission supports leaving the pier open 24 hours a day when it reopens rather than closing it at 10 p.m. as has been the case since the new pier opened in 2020.

Regarding Seymour’s comment about paying $400 per square foot to lease the city-owned pier space and paying $40 per square foot to lease his privately-owned Anna Maria General Store space, Com­missioner John Lynch noted the city only charges Seymour and his partners for the interior pier build­ing space and does not charge them for the outdoor area that provides seating for their customers.

Short said he will take the commis­sioners’ insights into account during future pier lease discussions with Seymour.

Waste management

The mayor, commissioners and residents continue to express displeasure with the residential trash collection services provided by Waste Management. The primary concern is Waste Management is not adequately providing the side door service required for non-homesteaded residential properties (including short-term vacation rentals) and paid for by those property owners. On several recent occasions, Short and others have complained about Waste Management employees not returning the trash and recycling receptacles to the side of the residen­tial structure after emptying them.

Commission discusses pier lease, parking fines, Waste Management
Waste Management wants to change Anna Maria’s trash collection days. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Short also made commissioners aware of a new concern. He said a member of the Waste Manage­ment team will appear before the commission on July 10 seeking commission authorization to switch trash collection days from Monday and Thursday to Tuesday and Friday and switch recycling collections from Monday to half of the city on Tuesday and half on Friday, with yard and landscaping collection continuing on Monday.

Short said Waste Management made the request after securing a contract with Manatee County for trash collection services in the unincorporated portions of the county. Johnson and Commissioner Gary McMullen oppose giving up Monday trash collections because of the heavy trash accumulation that occurs during weekends. Lynch suggested Waste Management is trying to manage its margins and pick up additional business without increasing its capacity and the trucks and equipment needed.

Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance

Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Residents and city officials are displeased with the level of trash and recycling collec­tion services being provided by Waste Management.

When addressing city commissioners about various city-related projects and concerns on Jan. 23, Anna Maria General Manager Dean Jones said, “We’re in talks with Waste Management. We want to bring them in for a meet-and-greet with the new administration and set some expectations for them. We expect high levels of customer service and we want to make sure they get that message.”

Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance
These trash and recycling receptacles are a common sight along Willow Avenue. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Mayor Mark Short then said, “We have, over the last several few weeks, received an unusual number of complaints about Waste Management service – stuff not getting picked up for sometimes weeks at a time, or they pick up my trash and not my recycling, or they didn’t get my landscaping. The volume of complaints we have received about Waste Management services has significantly increased over the last several weeks. So, we’re scheduling a meet­ing with ‘the boss,’ trying to get him out here and have a little conversation about improving the quality of service which has, in our opinion, deteriorated.”

Commissioner Chris Arendt asked if short-term vacation rentals are required to use the side-door trash and recycling service – a service provided at an additional cost which entails Waste Management employees retrieving and returning trash and recy­cling receptacles to the side of the house.

“That hasn’t been happen­ing,” Arendt said.

After clarifying the side-door service requirement pertains to all non-home­steaded residential proper­ties, and not just vacation rentals, Short said, “You’re right. That’s part of the qual­ity of service. For those, they are to go get it, dump it and take it back. We’ve also seen where they go get them but they’re leaving them out at the street, and in some cases in the street. That’s part of our soon-to-be meeting and conversation. We need to see some improvement in qual­ity of service,” Short said.

Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance
Non-homesteaded properties, including short-term vacation rentals, are required to use side-door trash and recycling receptacle retrieval and return service. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commission Chair Charlie Salem asked when the city’s current exclusive contract with Waste Management expires. Jones said the current contract expires on June 28, 2026: “We have about 18 months.”

Salem noted Waste Man­agement’s quality of service will be considered when it’s time to discuss renewing that contract.

The cities of Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach contract with Waste Pro for their trash and recycling services.

Anna Maria Mayor upset with trash collection disruptions

Anna Maria mayor upset about trash collection disruptions

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Weather.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy is among those displeased with the lack of trash collection provided by Waste Management during the extended Fourth of July weekend and Hurricane Elsa.

Anna Maria is the only city on Anna Maria Island serviced by Waste Management. Waste Pro services Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach. According to Bradenton Beach Public Works Manager Tom Woodard, Waste Pro serviced that city on Tuesday and Wednesday.

During the Thursday, July 8 city commission meeting, Murphy gave a positive report regarding the city’s response to the storm, with one exception: “The biggest faux pas we had was garbage collection. Holmes Beach had their garbage collected and somehow Waste Management decided to not pick up our garbage because the landfill was closed.”

Murphy was referring to the Manatee County landfill being closed on Tuesday after being closed on Monday in recognition of the Fourth of July holiday.

At 11:46 a.m. on Monday, July 6, Manatee County Utilities Department Strategic Affairs Manager Amy Pilson sent an email to the public works directors in the Manatee County cities, but her email was not sent directly sent to the Island’s city mayors.

“Due to the anticipated impacts of Tropical Storm Elsa, the Manatee County Landfill will be closed and all collection services in the unincorporated areas will be suspended tomorrow, Tuesday, July 6,” Pilson stated in her email.

Murphy said no one from the county or Waste Management contacted him directly to explain the situation, but Public Works Manager Dean Jones was initially notified by Waste Management of the additional service disruption.

“Dean couldn’t even get ahold of them to find out what’s going on. The word coming from Waste Management was basically non-existent. I’ve asked Dean to schedule an appointment with Waste Management because I’m very dissatisfied with their communications. It was a fiasco. They obviously had no plan for an emergency, especially following a three-day weekend when the garbage is already piling up,” Murphy said.

Anna Maria Mayor upset with trash collection disruptions
Mayor Dan Murphy was exasperated with Waste Management’s performance during the holiday weekend and hurricane. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“If you can send me an email every time my bill is due, then why can’t you send me an email and tell me you’re not going to provide service? I also know they have the capability to do robocalls. Why wasn’t that employed?” he added.

“The call came after the fact,” Commissioner Carol Carter noted.

Contract talks

The city of Anna Maria extended its contract with Waste Management in 2019. At that time, Waste Pro also submitted a bid to provide those exclusive citywide services. When presenting the Waste Pro proposal, company representative Bob ten Haaf noted Waste Pro has its own trash processing company and is not dependent on the landfill. The commission ultimately voted 4-1 to enter into another contract with Waste Management.

Murphy said there’s a clause in the Waste Management contract that allows the city to renegotiate if the city is dissatisfied with their performance.

“Maybe we can resolve it. My intent is we have in place a good emergency plan even when there’s a holiday which impacts the garbage pickup. There’s no excuse for what took place,” Murphy said.

If Murphy feels the need to renegotiate after his pending meeting with Waste Management representatives, he will seek that commission authorization on July 22.

Commissioner Jon Crane said he was frustrated because he couldn’t find one reliable source of information regarding the impacted collection dates, including the Waste Management website.

Commissioner Mark Short said he was out on Willow Avenue picking up bottles and cans that were floating in the water because the uncollected bottles and cans were placed in boxes rather than trash bags, trash cans or recycle bins. Murphy said there were also failures with the side-yard pickups required of non-homesteaded residential properties.

Waste Management response

When contacted by The Sun on Friday, Waste Management regional spokesperson Dana McCormick said, “Due to the closure of the Manatee County landfill on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day, Waste Management could not provide service to Anna Maria. Our scheduled make-up day was Tuesday. Then, due to the approach of Hurricane Elsa, Manatee County made the decision to close the landfill again on Tuesday. Therefore, Waste Management could not service Anna Maria on Tuesday. Our safety protocols do not allow garbage to remain in our trucks overnight.

“While our senior leadership was in frequent contact with the city of Anna Maria staff on service changes due to the closure of the Manatee County landfill, we understand our communications did not meet the city’s expectations and we will commit to do better in future storm events,” McCormick said.

“We provided service to our customers on Wednesday and Thursday upon the opening of the landfill and we’ll be back on our regular schedule next week. We look forward to our meeting with Mayor Dan Murphy,” she added.

Online updates

McCormick said during regular non-storm events, property owners can go to www.WM.com and enter their address to check on current or anticipated service disruptions.

“During a tropical storm or a hurricane, we have a special website in Florida: www.WMFloridaStorm.com,” McCormick said, noting the website did contain collection information related to Manatee County and Anna Maria’s service interruptions.

Regarding the possibility that many Anna Maria property owners may not have been aware of Waste Management’s storm website, McCormick said, “We will certainly make sure during the next potential storm that both the city and its residents are better informed of that website. If there was a miscue with the Anna Maria residents, we want to make sure that is corrected before the next storm.”

In response to McCormick’s responses, Murphy said, “No matter what Waste Management’s perception of their communication plan is, our streets had overflowing garbage cans for several days. They didn’t pick up trash after a holiday weekend and that’s what they get paid to do. The end result was totally unacceptable.”

Waste Management gets first crack at solid waste contract

Waste Management gets first crack at solid waste contract

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Residents may see their trash and recycling bills goes down, but vacation rental owners and Anna Maria business owners may see their bills increase significantly.

Mayor Dan Murphy is now authorized to negotiate a new seven-year contract with Waste Management. If those negotiations are successful, Waste Management will continue to provide Anna Maria’s solid waste services. If Murphy’s cannot reach acceptable terms with Waste Management, he will seek the commission authorization to negotiate with Waste Pro.

Both companies submitted proposals in response to the city’s recent request for proposals (RFP) and both hope to secure the city’s trash and recycling contract.

Bob ten Haaf represented Waste Pro at the Thursday, May 9 commission meeting. Bill Gresham and Jason White represented Waste Management.

Residential rates

Regarding the proposed residential fees, Murphy said Waste Management’s current fee is $59.70 every three months.

“Waste Pro came in at $54.48 for residents and Waste Management came in at $53.79,” Murphy said.

Murphy said the side-door pickup required of non-homesteaded short-term vacation rentals is currently $69.30. He said Waste Pro proposed a new rate of $91.68 and Waste Management proposed $114.

Waste Management is offering to increase the city’s franchise fee from 4 percent to 8 percent of the total gross revenue collected from Anna Maria customers. Waste Pro offered a 12 percent franchise fee, minus tipping fees.

Anna Maria Waste Management
Bill Gresham and Jason White represented Waste Management at the May 9 commission meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The commission preferred Waste Management’s twice-weekly pickup over the four times a week proposed by Waste Pro. The commission preferred Waste Management’s two-year price lock over Waste Pro’s one-year price lock.

To avoid traffic and reduce congestion, both companies offered to begin pickup services along Pine Avenue one hour earlier, beginning at 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m.

When ten Haaf addressed the commission, Murphy noted Waste Pro’s proposed franchise fee was a percentage of the gross revenue minus the tipping fees, which is not what the RFP requested.

Murphy said this makes it difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison. He said he could have disqualified Waste Pro’s bid for that reason, but he wanted to hear more.

In response, ten Haaf said Waste Pro has its own processing company and is not landfill reliant. Based on internal comparisons, ten Haaf said he thinks Waste Pro’s proposed franchise fee is better than Waste Management’s.

When addressing Waste Management, Murphy said he didn’t feel the feel residential rate came down far enough. Gresham said they could negotiate a different rate but that would affect the other rates.

Commercial rates a concern

The conversation became more animated when discussing Waste Management’s proposed commercial fees.

“Your commercial rates are double what the existing rates were. What’s the driver there?” Murphy said.

Gresham said there are only so many revenue sources in the city and they tried to spread everything out as equally as they could.

Commission Chair Brian Seymour said he currently pays about $360 a month for Waste Management trash and recycling services at his Anna Maria General Store.

“That would be more like $500 or $600 a month now. That’s a huge increase,” he said.

“I think you’re putting undue burden on the business community to make up for your other areas. The business community provides a lot of revenues for this city. We also provide a lot of revenue to you guys,” Seymour said.

“When’s enough enough? The business community’s had it pretty tough for the last couple years and to ask us to double our bills? That’s ridiculous,” he added.

“Your statement’s pretty clear. We understand what you’re saying, that would be one of the things negotiated,” Gresham said.

The commission voted 4-1 in favor of Waste Management being ranked first and being given the first opportunity to negotiate a contract with Murphy. The commission must still approve the negotiated contract terms.

When contacted later, Seymour said he thought Waste Pro’s commercial fees were much closer to the current rates.

“In the RFP, the city sought an increase in the franchise fee and lower rates for permanent residents. It seems to me this is lowering the resident’s fees and increasing the city’s fees off the backs of vacation rentals and businesses,” Seymour said.

Seymour encourages Anna Maria business owners to attend the next trash contract discussion and make their voices heard before a final decision is made.

The next commission meeting is Thursday, May 23 at 6 p.m.