BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the December 12 General Policy Committee meeting, a City Commission that barely had a quorum moved forward with increasing residential waste collection rates by 20%. Commissioners also indicated that they preferred continuing with multiple commercial haulers instead of entering into an exclusive contract with a single hauler, as the County has done.
One-month extension of contract with UF that governs bus service
The board first took up a one-month extension of the City’s contract with the University of Florida governing bus service, with Chief Operating Officer Andrew Persons (acting for City Manager Cynthia Curry, who was absent) saying the City is “very close, I believe, to settling on a new three-year contract with a revised rate structure,” but with the contract expiring at the end of the month, a one-month extension was needed. Persons said he hopes to bring the full contract to the City Commission at their January 16 meeting. The extension is at the current rate, $84 per service hour, but Persons said UF has agreed that once the contract is successfully ratified, they will retroactively pay the City a new, higher rate. The contract extension passed 4-0, with Commissioners Ed Book, Desmon Duncan-Walker, and Reina Saco absent throughout the meeting.