Trash cans are just the start

Marlin Residents received new trash cans with the turn of the century, as the City of Marlin’s contract moved from Waste Management to Frontier Solutions.

The switch from one to the other was a no-brainer for planners back in August. 

“We were required to give Waste Management 90 days notice, per our contract,” said Marlin City Manager, Cedric Davis. “We began taking bids. When looking at the extra services that Frontier provided for a heck of a lot less money, we decided to go with them.”

In addition to saving the city approximately $320,000 off the yearly contract, Frontier provides bulk curbside pick-up, white goods pick-up, and brush pick-up. Trash pick-up days will not change.

Residents have raised the question of whether they will see a reflection of this savings on their monthly bills, to which the definite answer is yes, but it is not for certain how much yet.

“It needs to be passed by a city ordinance first, before we can just adjust individual bills,” City Secretary Maryann Waddle said. “It was all done in the the good of Marlin. We were thinking of the residents.”

When the change goes into effect, at a date not yet set, residents will see it reflected under the “refuse” section of their City of Marlin bill. 

Other complaints received were that residents did not receive handicap stickers, did not recieve a trash can (or it was taken,) and that they were uniformed of the change. These are all being dealt with. Handicap stickers will be delivered within two weeks. Residents who did not receive a can or theirs has come up missing for some reason, can report to the Marlin Water Department, where they will be more than happy to help you. Reports say that Frontier personnel, who can be seen in bright yellow shirts, have come through their office more than a couple times to ensure they are receiving any requests. 

Residents unaware of the change, or who just want to stay better up to date with The City of Marlin, are advised to go to the City of Marlin website, www.marlintx.net, to sign up for alerts, which can be emailed or texted to you, and additionally are encouraged to regularly attend City Council Meetings.

“There were many people that day where we discussed the change who spoke,” Davis explained. “Many citizens came out that day, so I’m not sure why this is being said.”

In budgeting for the new year, this projected $320,000 savings has already helped in other areas of the city lacking necessary funds. 

“Saving this money has allowed us to move forward on other projects,” Davis said. “Without the backup funds, we wouldn’t be able to pick up extra gravel to fill in roads or continue with planning other projects for the year.”

Other projects include a new campaign for fixing street lamps around town, where over 75 have already been fixed; instituting new police programs to roll out in February; creating an official City Facebook page to be used for informational purposes only; and crafting a plan to work on the infrastructure in various parts of town.