Katy City Council approves plaza landscaping, solid waste contract

By R. Hans Miller | Times Senior Reporter
Posted 7/21/20

City of Katy residents will see a few changes around town in the coming months after Katy City Council’s July 20 meeting. During the special meeting which happened via teleconference, council …

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Katy City Council approves plaza landscaping, solid waste contract

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City of Katy residents will see a few changes around town in the coming months after Katy City Council’s July 20 meeting. During the special meeting which happened via teleconference, council members approved a $123,000 landscaping contract for the city’s downtown plaza and a contract with Texas Pride to provide solid waste services.

The landscaping contract was awarded to MoBill Contractors, Inc. to update plans and close out Phase I of the city’s Katy City Hall Plaza Projects. The plaza, located opposite Katy City Hall on Avenue C, will see hardscaping, landscaping, a drinking fountain, overhead power adjustments and a temporary fence around the old Katy water tower while Phase II is planned out said Kayce Reina, the city’s director of Tourism, Marketing and Public Relations, who oversees the project.

MoBill Contractors is based out of The Woodlands according to city documents.

Council also approved a new solid waste services contract for trash pickup with Texas Pride who was competing with current vendor, Republic Services. Prior to approval of the new contract, Republic Services had taken care of the city’s solid waste for more than 20 years.

A decision on the solid waste contract had been tabled at the council’s July 6 meeting to allow Texas Pride and Republic Services to provide clarifications to city staff and council related to their responses to the city’s request for proposals – a formal request for proposals which allows government entities in Texas to compare costs between vendors and then negotiate a contract.

Finalists Texas Pride Disposal and Republic Services were pulled from a pool of six respondents which included Best Trash, Frontier Waste Solutions, HHW Solutions and WCA Waste Corporation.

A survey from the city to obtain resident input was sent to 6,370 households within Katy’s city limits and 40% or 2,549 of those households responded. Of those who responded, 78% were satisfied with Republic Services and 21% were not pleased with the current vendor. About 1% did not indicate satisfaction either way.

Council Member Janet Corte, who cited disappointment with Republic Service’s consistency in taking care of residents in recent months and better pricing by Texas Pride, motioned to choose Texas Pride. The motion was then amended by a secondary motion from Council Member Frank Carroll III to include a surety bond of $250,000 to ensure good performance and safety during Texas Pride’s tenure providing trash and recycle services to the city.

Texas Pride will save residents money in comparison to the quoted price from Republic Services. With adjustments for the cost of the surety bond, a trash bin will cost $13.15 per month compared to $14.50 from Republic Services under that company’s bid.

Katy City Council generally meets the second and fourth Monday of each month. The meeting scheduled for July 13 was cancelled and rescheduled as a special meeting for July 6 and the next regular meeting is scheduled for July 27 at 6:30 p.m. though that time may change to accommodate council members’ schedules and city needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety concerns have moved city council meetings online since shortly after the pandemic began. Scheduling can be viewed at www.cityofkaty.com/about/calendar.

Katy City Council, Republic Services, Texas Pride, Plaza