FORT WAYNE – The Fort Wayne City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposed seven-year garbage disposal contract with National Serv-All because of concerns over the length of the pact and its vulnerability to fuel prices.

The council voted 5-3 against the contract, but overwhelmingly supported contracts with Serv-All to collect garbage and recycling and dispose of recycling. Final votes on all the contracts are slated for next week, and city officials said they will spend the next several days trying to lobby council members about their benefits.

Council members Tom Smith, R-1st; Tom Didier, R-3rd; Mitch Harper, R-4th; John Shoaff, D-at large; and Liz Brown, R-at large, voted against the disposal contract. Council members Karen Goldner, D-2nd; Glynn Hines, D-6th; and Marty Bender, R-at large, supported it. Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, was absent.

One of the biggest concerns about the disposal contract for council members was that 30 percent of its total price is based on fuel costs, which means if fuel prices doubled, the per-ton disposal fee would increase 30 percent. The fee of $24.70 per ton is lower than what the city currently pays.

The council heard a presentation from Gregg Walbridge, owner of Earth First and Southwest Development Group, about why the city should give Serv-All a three-year disposal contract.

Walbridge is trying to build a competing landfill next to the existing Serv-All landfill and said he would be ready to offer competitive prices to the city in three years. He criticized Serv-All’s price structure, saying it was a veiled effort to increase prices dramatically over the course of the contract.

Several of the opposing council members said they would prefer awarding a three-year contract to Serv-All, but Goldner said that has its own risks. For example, the proposed landfill could never happen and then the city would be forced to put the service out for bid again and face even higher prices. Serv-All was the only company to bid on the disposal services this year.

The city hailed the contracts as a cost-savings to residents, noting they would save $300,000 next year over this year’s garbage and recycling service. Bob Kennedy, director of public works, said these lowered costs would have allowed the city to drop monthly garbage bills by almost a quarter to $11. If the three-year contract, with higher initial fees, were approved, it could eliminate those savings.

Tim Giardina, a consultant hired by the city to help with the contract, recommended longer contracts to the council because the prices were so low compared with what he sees across the industry. He said the contract was more dependent on fuel prices than he expected, but that could also mean even lower costs if fuel prices dropped.

“These bids are the best in the area and really in the country that I’ve seen,” he said.

If the council defeats the contract next week the city could either try to approve a three-year contract or put the service out to bid again.

The other three Serv-All contracts are not affected by what happens to the disposal contract.

blanka@jg.net