News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Livingston Aldermen voted Monday night to triple commercial trash rates, a first increase in what the mayor called decades.
The rates for one pickup weekly went from $20 per month to $60 per month. Five pickups per week went from $100 to $300 per month. Aldermen voted for the rate increase unanimously with no discussion. Mayor Curtis Hayes.
“If you remember in the work session we had a discussion we hadn’t had a rate increase in over 30 years of collecting garbage as far as commercial garbage is,” Hayes said. “This is not effecting the residential garbage that we will continue to pick up at no extra cost.”
The city began exploring raising commercial trash rates after growing concerns about trash at commercial properties in the city. The city explored getting out of the trash business all together last month, considering a proposal to allow a contractor to take over the work. That plan was scrapped, as the cost was too high.
In other business, the board voted to authorize the mayor to apply for a grant from the state. The grant is for $540,675. The city would match with $60,000 to prepare land for a 100,000-square-foot industrial building and a 100-space parking lot.
The board also voted to establish a Consultant Selection Policy and adopt a Conflict of Interest Statement.
“It’s what we’ve been doing all the time,” Downtown Revitalization Chair Ray Evans said. “It is more or less making sure we have the right paper work going forward on this grant. I recommend that we approve.”
Aldermen passed a Consultant Selection policy to qualify for a T-DOT grant, while the Conflict of Interest Statement was adopted for a TDEC grant.
“When a grant is involved we do what the funding agency says,” Community Developer Amanda Mainord said. “TDEC has asked us to add a Conflict of Interest Statement to our Procurement Policy, and they’re asking all the communities around the Upper Cumberland to do this.”
