Photo courtesy of Santek Waste Services
Santek Waste Services truck
A Santek Waste Services truck
The Hoover City Council tonight gave Santek a three-year extension on its contract to pick up garbage, recycling materials, leaves and other yard waste for residents in the city.
The contract originally came up for renewal in January but was postponed because some residents were expressing problems with the service they were receiving.
The most common complaint is that the workers doing garbage and recycling pickup sometimes leave empty carts in the middle of the driveway, in the street or somewhere else where they are not supposed to be, said Councilman John Greene, who is chairman of the council’s Public Works Committee.
Other people have complained about their streets or houses being missed. Greene said Santek is not perfect, but overall the company does a good job.
The company had 251 complaints in December, but that’s less than 1 percent of their total pickups in Hoover, said Sam Dillender, the head of Santek’s operations in Alabama.
The best thing about Santek is that they are responsive, Greene said. “The complaints they receive, they get right on it and make every effort to correct the problem,” Greene said. “They just go really above and beyond as far as trying to keep service at the 100 percent level, and they’re still striving to do that.”
Dillender told the council during its work session Thursday night that some of the problems they had toward the end of last year were due to changes in schedules related to holidays and inclement weather.
He also said in January that some of the complaints stem from people not understanding what kinds of items can go in the recycling bins. Sometimes workers don’t empty people’s recycling bins because the bins are contaminated with unacceptable items, he said. Often times, those loads end up being picked up and combined with trash on another day because of the contamination issue, he said.
The company that collects recycled goods from Santek charges Santek much more to sort through a load that is contaminated with garbage or other items that are not on the recycle list, such as glass, Dillender said. The charge is $15 per ton for a clean load, $50 per ton for load that is deemed half-contaminated and $100 per ton for a load deemed fully contaminated, he said.
Since January, the company has made extra efforts to help educate residents about what kinds of items are acceptable for recycling and what kinds are not, he said. Santek also has changed some drivers and has a new supervisor helping out in Hoover, he said.
Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice said the company even put cameras on their trucks to monitor employee actions and help with professional development.
Rice noted there were serious problems with leaf pickup in late 2016 and early 2017. Santek completely revamped their leaf pickup schedule, and this past fall and winter season leaf pickup was much better, he said.
Santek officials said they also have started having workers in the field report problems so supervisors can visit homes to discuss the issues with the residents and explain why pickup was not possible. Sometimes the carts are overloaded with very heavy items that if picked up by the truck may tear up the cart, officials said.
The city’s contract with Santek for all its services amounts to about $7.3 million per year, Rice said.
In the Birmingham-Hoover metro area, Santek also provides service to Helena, Gardendale, Trussville and part of Blount County, company officials said.
In other business tonight, the City Council:
- Annexed a half-acre piece of property in the Inverness Center North office complex that formerly was used as a helipad for Southern Co. Another entity wants to use the land for a structure, and the city wants the land, already surrounded by Hoover, brought into the city limits, City Planner Mac Martin said.
- Gave approval for the Rite Aid at 1615 Montgomery Highway to sell beer and table wine for consumption off the premises.
- Gave approval for Ginza Sushi and Korean BBQ to sell liquor for consumption on the premises at 5291 Valleydale Road.
- Had the first reading of an ordinance to begin annexing about 7 acres at 7160 Cahaba Valley Road, also known as Alabama 119. The property is located across from Tattersall Park. It is owned by Brook Highland Community Church, but the building is vacant now, Martin said. A developer is eyeing the land for potential office use, he said. A vote on that annexation is scheduled for April 2.
Map courtesy of city of Hoover
Brook Highland Community Church property map
The Hoover City Council is considering annexing a 7-acre parcel along Alabama 119 across from Tattersall Park owned by Brook Highland Community Church but being considered for an office development.
- Set a public hearing for April 16 to consider an amendment to the municipal code that would make it easier for people to obtain approval for sales of alcoholic beverages when such sales are deemed an accessory use of the businesses, such as restaurants, groceries, convenience stores and pharmacies.
- Set a public hearing for April 16 to consider whether to allow Mountainprize Inc. and Savage, Savage & Brown to build a RaceTrac Petroleum gasoline station at 2137 Valleydale Road, next to the new BP Circle K that was approved a few months ago.
- Set a public hearing for April 16 to consider whether to rezone property at 830 Municipal Drive from a neighborhood shopping district to a community business district to get the same zoning for all of the 1.7 acres the city owns between Hoover Fire Station No. 4 and the Extra Space Storage facility. The city bought 1.22 of the acres from Jack Nix in December and plans to put a police training facility on the property.
- Set a public hearing for April 16 to consider whether to allow the Junior League of Birmingham to sell alcoholic beverages at an April 26 Bargain Bash party for the group’s annual Bargain Carousel garage sale at the former Winn-Dixie shopping center near the intersection of Interstate 459 and John Hawkins Parkway.
- Concurred with the mayor's appointment of Ben Wieseman to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission. Wieseman is director of catalytic development for Rev Birmingham, an economic development group that works to stimulate business development and improve quality of life in Birmingham's city center and neighborhood commercial centers. He is a landscape architect, certified planner, teacher at Auburn University and member of the design review board for the city of Birmingham. He and his wife have lived in Hoover about nine years.