Proposals for waste management to be ready for review

Published 6:30 am Wednesday, February 20, 2019

CADE — St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars told parish council members he expects to have graded proposals from potential waste management companies ready for their review by the first meeting in April.

During the council’s Public Works Committee hearing at the Cade Recreational Center, Cedars said the administration will hold a pre-bid conference this week, with proposals due to the parish administration by March 13.

“This is all part of what we have been doing for that last year,” Cedars said. “It ties in with the litter abatement, our nuisance abatement program, all of the efforts to make the parish a better place.”

Cedars said the request for proposals marks a step forward for the parish. In addition to basic waste collection services, it requires bidders to include large 64-gallon recycling containers, eliminates the requirement for limbs and brush to be bundled in four-foot chunks, includes penalties for vendors if they miss a pickup day and sets standards for the age of equipment used to collect trash.

“Our deficit will go away,” Cedars said. “At a minimum, we will break even.”

The request also includes a $125,000 franchise fee, which Cedars said will help the parish fund hazardous waste pick up days in the parish.

“We could do two a year,” he said. “And not just TV sets and electronics. It would include things like lead paint and prescription medicines.”

Cedars said he has heard from all but one of the vendors he was aware of so far.

He also said during the Public Works Committee hearing that he expected to have a version of a floodplain ordinance for future developments ready for the council in April.

During the Administration and Finance Committee hearing, Chairwoman Lisa Nelson introduced John Hayes as a new member of the parish’s water district board, while Cedars told committee members that veterinarian Brooke Mire Kaufman had agreed to take over the director’s role at the St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter. 

The committee also agreed to consider Connie Horton and Travis Meche for contracts to open and close the Coteau Holmes Civic Center for the coming year.

Cedars kicked off his president’s report with some good news: the parish’s tax collections for the first six months of the fiscal year are up 13.86 percent.

“I’m excited to see it,” he said. “There’s a lot of activity in our parish.”