Council approves recycling program

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

A commitment from fewer than 5 percent of Lockhart’s current trash collection customers could result in a curbside recycling program being introduced in the City of Lockhart.

According to a contract amendment presented to the city council by City Manager Vance Rodgers on Tuesday, Central Texas Refuse has agreed to pr

ovide a curbside recycling service beginning on Oct. 1, 2009, so long as at least 175 customers sign up for the voluntary service.

Rodgers presented figures he had negotiated with representatives of Central Texas Refuse after the council instructed him last month to pursue the possibility of a curbside recycling program. The result, Rodgers said, is a contract that will have Central Texas Refuse providing 18-gallon containers for recycling to subscribing customers, who will pay up to $5.50 per month for collection.

Under the current contract, the cost for the recycling program will decrease as its popularity increases, dropping as low as $4.25 per customer per month if more than 2,000 of the city’s 3,400 customers commit to the program.

Although it was unclear at press time what the procedure will be for signing customers up for the service, Rodgers said information would be distributed in customers’ power bills, and would also be available on the City of Lockhart’s website and television station, as well as shared with the Post-Register, as details become available. One thing Rodgers said was certain is that 175 customers will have to sign a one-year commitment to participate prior to the Oct. 1 start date to get the program up and running.

Rodgers said it was unclear how a curbside recycling program would impact the operation of the city’s recycling center. However, he said the city remains committed to operating the center, and expressed hope that initiating a curbside recycling program could actually expand the serviceability of the existing recycling center.
For information or to register for the curbside recycling program, contact City Hall at (512) 398-3461.

In other business, the council entertained requests from a variety of area non-profit organizations, each of which hopes to convince the council to make a donation to their efforts in the coming budget year. For the past three years, the City of Lockhart has contributed a total of just over $25,000 to the requesting non-profit organizations, and Mayor James “Jimmy” Bertram said he expects that total to remain the same in the 2009-2010 budget cycle.

The council gave approval to Finance Director Jeff Hinson to invest in the Texas Short Term Asset Reserve (TexSTAR) Program. TexSTAR is an investment pool in which the city will invest the funds received from a recent issuance of certificates of obligation in the amount of some $6.1 million. Hinson said he felt comfortable with investing the pool, which is secured largely by treasury bonds, and that participation, he felt, was in the best interest of the city for purposes of safety, liquidity and yield.

In brief news:
The council approved a slight change to the city’s Subdivision Regulations, which were recently amended. The change, according to City Planner Dan Gibson, reinserted language which was inadvertently deleted in during the revision process earlier this year.

They discussed a plan to solicit bids and proposals for third-party billing and collection services for Lockhart EMS. According to EMS Director Melanie Tucker, third-party billing is becoming the industry standard for emergency medical services in the area.
The panel discussed information relating to their budget preparation calendar. They expect to have the budget ready for public hearing and approval n August.

The Lockhart City Council has a regularly-scheduled meeting on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Glosserman Conference Room at Lockhart City Hall. The meetings are open to the public and are televised on Time Warner Cable Channel 10.