After almost a year of discussion, the Brookshire City Council has approved a proposal from Republic Waste to convert the city to an automated garbage collection system.
Council members approved the move on a 3-1 vote with Alderwoman Kim Branch opposing the move.
The changeover to the new system is now scheduled to take place Oct. 1, according to Republic Waste Division Manager David Aguilar.
The proposal was initially presented to city council late last year. After discussing the system at several different meetings, the council voted to reject the change because it would require a two-year extension of the city’s contract with Republic.
Late last month, Aguilar urged council members to reconsider.
As he had at several previous meetings, Aguilar stressed converting to company-issued 96-gallon rollout containers would improve the city’s appearance by keeping garbage from being strewn about.
The change would also allow Republic to switch from a traditional system in which waste is collected manually to one that uses an automated arm on the trash collection truck that picks up, dumps and then replaces the containers.
Aguilar told the council that, because of less-than-desirable nature of the job, his company is forced to use temporary staffing agencies to find people willing to work on the back of the current garbage trucks.
Brookshire’s garbage rates will increase from $9.02 per month to $10.35; however, the monthly rate would have gone up whether or not the new system was implemented.
To gain approval of the automated system, Republic agreed to drop the contract extension requirement. The city and Republic still have three years left on the current contract.
Alderwoman Kim Branch, who has been a skeptic of proposal, told Aguilar she still was not convinced it was a good move for the city, particularly for elderly and disabled residents.
“I’m going to be quiet tonight. I’m going to let you have your little spiel and when it comes time to vote, I’ll vote my vote and you know what that’s going to be,” Branch told Aguilar.
“Yes, ma’am; I do,” Aguilar replied.
Alderman Jimmy Sanders, who was not on city council when it rejected the proposal in March, said he had reviewed the contract and, after removing the extension clause, was comfortable voting in favor of the new system. Sanders then made the motion to approve the automated collection agreement.
Sanders and Aldermen Eric Green and Lyndon Stamps voted in favor of the proposal; Branch cast the dissenting vote.
Mayor Pro Tem Marilyn Vaughn was not present for the meeting.
