City hires contractor to pick up litter on Beltline, Sixth Avenue

Aug. 6—Beltline Road and Sixth Avenue in Decatur will soon look cleaner after the city hired a contractor this week to start immediately picking up trash along the two routes.

L&L Outdoor Services, the city's new independent contractor, will use a three-man crew to pick up litter on Sixth Avenue/U.S. 31, from the southern city limits to the Hudson Memorial Bridges at the Tennessee River, and on the Beltline, from the west side of Sixth Avenue to Alabama 20.

The litter pickup goes along with Mayor Tab Bowling's plan to also increase the amount of mowing and trimming along the Beltline and Sixth Avenue, the city's most heavily traveled routes. The additional mowing still needs council approval.

Bowling said the additional sprucing up of Sixth Avenue and the Beltline is a pilot program that he hopes will be phased into other areas of the city.

"It's a starting point," Bowling said. "When I ride down the Beltline and I look at the medians where the street sweeper can't reach, I see areas where it will help to pick up trash by hand. It will make a tremendous difference as I'm sure would apply around the city."

The City Council voted 4-1 Monday to award the litter pickup contract to L&L. The Hartselle company won the contract as the only bidder, so this allowed the city to negotiate a one-year contract for $156,000. The expense will be split between the fiscal 2021 budget, which ends Sept. 30, and the 2022 budget.

Councilmen Carlton McMasters and Kyle Pike said a litter program has been one of residents' top requests since they joined the council in November.

"This has been something we've heard a lot about from residents," McMasters said. "I'm for anything that will beautify our city."

Pike said he hopes the city can expand the cleanup to other well-traveled routes while using inmates in other areas.

Bowling said the bid "came in a little bit higher than we anticipated" because of hourly wages. For $3,000 weekly, L&L will use a three-man crew, with one driving a vehicle with a trailer behind two workers picking up trash.

"Originally, we thought it would be $20 a man-hour and the bid came in at $25 a man-hour," Bowling said.

The mayor said the city considered using Alabama Department of Corrections inmates, who each cost $20 a day, but that would require hiring a supervisor at an estimated $40,000 salary plus benefits. The city would also need to buy a truck with a trailer plus the cost of gas.

"We think L&L is better suited for what we want to do," Bowling said.

Pike said he doesn't like that the contractor's rate increased by $5 an hour but he understands.

"Just look at the labor pool and businesses are having trouble finding employees," Pike said. "If you want people to do the job, sometimes you have to pay a little more."

Bowling said the City Council will have to approve his plan for mowing the Beltline and Sixth Avenue medians and rights of way weekly in a future meeting. Craft's Landscapes, an independent contractor, now mows the two routes twice a month, weather permitting, for $6,400 per cut.

Purchasing Agent Charles Booth said Craft's has about 18 months remaining on a contract that began in March 2019. Craft's initially had a one-year contract with a two-year option that the city chose to renew.

Bowling said Craft's agreed to begin weekly mowing and trimming of the two routes for an extra $25,600 for the remainder of fiscal 2021.

The mayor's plan comes out of suggestions from former Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant, who the council hired at a cost of $1,500 a month plus expenses. He was hired on the recommendation of state Sen. Arthur Orr and state Rep. Terri Collins, both of Decatur.

Kant is providing suggestions to Bowling and city directors on how they might improve the city. Trained as a horticulturalist, one of Kant's specialties is beautification.

Councilman Billy Jackson, who was opposed to the hiring of Kant, voted against the litter pickup resolution. He did not elaborate on his reason for opposing it.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.