Sheldon, Iowa — During their regular meeting Wednesday, the Sheldon City Council addressed negotiations with the city’s garbage haulers, De Kruif Disposal and Schwarz Sanitary Service, about terms of a new contract for garbage and recycling disposal. The current contract expires on July 31st.
The City has offered a two-year contract in which haulers would receive a rate increase of 25-cents per month for each of the two years. The City further proposed that the fuel surcharge would be left as it is in the current contract, which calls for a 50-cent per customer surcharge when fuel is $3.00 per gallon, and 25-cents more for each 50-cent increment, starting at $3.50 per gallon. In addition, the City’s offer would leave the downtown recycling receptacle in place in the Community Services Center parking lot. The City currently absorbs the cost of having the receptacle emptied, at a cost of $75 per time. The City’s offer would change the cost to a three-way split between the City, De Kruif Disposal and Schwarz Sanitary. City Manager Sam Kooiker mentioned that at least one of the haulers had expressed concerns about splitting the cost. So, speaking to the haulers during Wednesday’s meeting, Kooiker threw out an alternative idea.
Kooiker pointed out that the current fuel surcharge is higher in Sheldon than in other cities he had compared. Between the surcharge and recycling issues, he’s not excited to recommend an agreement that spans a five-year time period.
The negotiations between the haulers and the City will continue.
In other action, the Sheldon City Council approved a resolution to sell the former Rec Bowl property to John Van Gorp of Sheldon Power & Equipment for $38,000.
The Council also spent much time discussing redistricting of Sheldon’s three wards. Redistricting is done every ten years to equalize population between the city’s three wards, according to population information garnered from the most recent Census. Kooiker had presented the Council six proposed map options, and the Council finally came to the conclusion that the fifth option best equalized the wards based on population. A motion was made, and passed, to have Kooiker and City Attorney Micah Schreurs resume the redistricting process according to Option number five. The map of that proposed option can be viewed below.
