Trash is the talk of the town

Biloxi residents may soon see changes in solid waste pickup beginning Oct. 1.

With the five year contract expiring on Sept. 30, the Harrison County Utility Authority, the organization that manages the contract, has rebid the work and awarded Team Waste as the next trash contractor serving most areas of Harrison County.

Under the terms of the new residential trash pickup contract, Team Waste will provide once a week trash pickup instead of a twice a week service that residents are currently experiencing. One 95 gallon trash can and one 35 gallon recycling cart will be provided, and yard waste and debris pickup will continue once a week.  A second 95 gallon can, if needed, will be available for a $2 per month fee. 

“It has been determined that only 60 percent of residents put out their trash can twice per week,” Biloxi Chief Administrative Officer Michael Leonard said.  “This means that 40 percent of residents are paying for a service that they are not using.  And continuing twice a week pickup would raise the cost for all residents by approximately $3 per month.”

Leonard added that providing a larger recycling cart will make it easier for residents to separate recycling material from the trash, and reduce the amount of trash.

Once all contracts are complete, the Biloxi City Council will be asked to raise the residential charge for solid waste pickup to the actual cost which the city must pay. 

Harrison County Utility Authority expects that the cost per residence will be approximately $14.26 per month. 

Waste Pro, the Harrison County Utility Authority’s current contractor for residential trash collection, will continue providing services through the end of September.

 

July starts off with a bang

Fireworks, baseball, and fishing brought in record numbers over the, for some, four day weekend.

“The warm, summer weather always brings in people,” Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, “but add the diversity of events that we just had, and the number of people usually increase.”

The long Fourth of July weekend in Biloxi featured three fireworks shows, the 70th annual Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, and a Biloxi Shuckers Fourth of July game.

According to Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association Director Linda Hornsby, hotels saw some of the influx.

“As it turns out, it became a decent “split” weekend,” Hornsby said.  “Saturday night was a sellout for some of the properties and others had availability but still did well, and the same could be said for Monday night.”

The Biloxi Fire and Police Departments were also impacted by the activities.  Calls for service increased in Biloxi Fire Department by 38 percent and in the Biloxi Police Department by 70 percent between noon and midnight on Beach Boulevard on July 4.

“We definitely saw an increase in traffic,” Biloxi Police Interim Director Michael Wills said. “Attendance to the fireworks-free zone more than doubled but all went well.”

As for the Biloxi Shuckers, the Fourth of July game with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos brought in a crowd of 6,098 which was a season high that tied as the second highest attended game in the three-year history of the ballpark.
See the reports from the fire, police and community development departments
 

News and notes

City Council meeting:  The first meeting of the new council term was held on Wednesday night at Biloxi City Hall.  To see images from the meeting, click here.

Podcasting:Did you know that the City of Biloxi has a citizens representative center to help people with concerns and complains within Biloxi? Well, the city does. To find out more information, listen to the latest recording of the City Desk Podcast by clicking here