Shane W Potter

Slippery Rock is looking to bid out garbage hauling duties.

At the borough meeting earlier this month, council unanimously voted to notify Serafine Hauling, which currently handles garbage hauling, that it will be putting out a new garbage contract for bid in lieu of extending the current one.

The decision comes as a result of public discontent around the service of the company. Complaints began after the company merged with Aikens Refuse, Christian Laskey, borough manager said.

“It might not necessarily be the service but the way that the old contract was interpreted,” Laskey said. “We need to reword our contract to better suit our residents’ needs.”

At the meeting, public comments were given by two residents raising concerns with the service, such as recurring instances of garbage not getting picked up and unpleasant customer service.

Jeff Campbell, council president, said he himself has had similar experiences on multiple occasions.

“We feel very sympathetic to what has happened to the taxpayers of this town over the last couple of years,” Campbell said. “We have to address this.”

Alex Tuten, a member of council, said one important considerations is everything has gone up in price, which may affect taxpayers if the current contract is not extended as is.

“If we negotiate a new contract with someone else, it may end up costing a little more,” Tuten said.

“There’s a lot of moving parts and I don’t know what it’s going to cost,” Laskey said at the meeting. “I don’t want to venture a guess.”

Campbell said there will be some increase in cost regardless.

“We still want to look out for the taxpayers, but in this case here, we’re not getting serviced and this is evident,” Campbell said.

Rebecca Black, borough solicitor, said the council should be mindful there are fewer garbage companies now than before and the borough can’t exclude a company from a bid unless they are deemed irresponsible.

“These are issues that can be dealt with in the bid specifications,” Black said. “They just need to be clear.”

Laskey said at the meeting that, for a new contract, he would have to iron out terminology to avoid issues in the future and the new contract could go to Aikens Refuse.

“It’s all in who has the lowest bid and who can provide the best service at the lowest price for our residents,” Laskey said.