The Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Greene County Commission jointly agreed Wednesday to sign a new solid waste contract with a Morristown firm that was the lowest bidder.

In a unanimous vote, the County Commission, then the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, each voted unanimously to award the new contract to TIDI Waste.

They did so in a meeting that lasted little more than an hour at the Greeneville Light & Power System auditorium.

The action ends Greeneville and Greene County's relationship with Allied Waste at the end of the year.

The joint meeting was needed because only the two elected bodies can enter into a contract to dispose of solid waste (garbage) for the city and county.

On Monday, the Greeneville-Greene County Regional Solid Waste Planning Board voted to recommend that the current contract with Allied Waste not be renewed when it expires at the end of December.

The board's chairman, Alderman Sarah Webster, reported that recommendation at Wednesday's meeting.

Webster explained that the city and county had only until midnight Saturday to notify Allied Waste that the contract would not be renewed. She said that the contract calls for 60 days notice to terminate.

Allied Waste now owns the BFI landfill in Hawkins County.

Webster also noted that the advisory board also unanimously recommended that a new five-year contract with an option for another renewal be awarded to TIDI Waste Systems of Morristown, which submitted the low bid.

The TIDI Waste bid was $3,736,800 for five years. The cost for transporting waste to the TIDI Waste landfill, a distance of 64 miles (round trip from Greeneville), was calculated at $1,835,725 for five years.

The next lowest bid was very close. Waste Management of Johnson City submitted a bid of $3,932,800 for five years, and the cost of transporting waste there, a distance of 57 miles was calculated at $$1,797,865.

The difference between the two lowest bids was only $157,340, or $31,468 per year.

The highest bid came from Allied Waste, which has been accepting waste from Greene County and Greeneville for many years. The Allied Waste bid was $3,788,000, and the cost of transporting that waste a distance of 112 miles was calculated at $2,627,295.

Bids were opened by the solid waste board on Oct. 22. This past Monday, a three-member committee made up of Greeneville Town Recorder Jim Warner, Greene County Solid Waste Director Hubert Metcalf and Pat Hardy, a consultant with the University of Tennessee's Municipal Technical Assistance Service (MTAS), presented a report that recommended the TIDI Waste bid.

The report, written by Hardy, pointed out that the city and county governments saved as much as $828,770 by seeking bids rather than renewing the existing contract.

After Monday's advisory board meeting, County Mayor Alan Broyles said he would have copies of the three-member committee's report hand-delivered to members of the county commission, so that they could review it before Wednesday's meeting. On Wednesday, Broyles said it turned out that it was "virtually impossible, in a day's time," to deliver copies to all 21 commissioners.

Commissioners were handed copies at the start of Wednesday's meeting. Most of them had not seen it beforehand.

After voting to terminate the current contract at the end of the year, and after discussion, the Greene County Commission, then the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, each voted unanimously to award the new contract to TIDI Waste, based on its bid.

In a separate vote, the two governing bodies also voted to authorize the county mayor and city mayor, as well as the county attorney and city attorney, to enter into negotiations with TIDI Waste to produce a contact "along the same lines" as the existing contract with BFI, but using TIDI Waste's bid numbers.

Mayor King presided, but turned the gavel over to Mayor Broyles each time a commission action was needed. The commission voted first in each instance.

Before the vote to terminate, County Commissioner John Cox asked to hear from a representative of the company with the current contract.

Scott Barrett, Allied Waste's general manager for East Tennessee, thanked the city and county for its business.

He then raised the issue, as he had on Monday, of potential "superfund" obligations that might result in liability for the city and county in the event that illegal materials showed up either in the former BFI landfill from past use, or in the TIDI Waste landfill at some point in the future.

Barrett said the city and county governments now have only one potential source of liability, but if the decision is to use another landfill, it would have two sources.

Barrett said Allied Waste takes environmental issues very seriously, is tightly regulated, and has the financial backing to provide the right care of garbage for as long as needed.

Alderman Buddy Hawk asked to hear from the other bidders. Patrick McGuffin, president of TIDI Waste, said that all companies involved in solid waste disposal have to meet the same criteria.

He acknowledged that the other two bidders "do have deeper pockets" but pointed out that Waste Management and Allied Waste are self-insured, while TIDI Waste purchases insurance from a third party.

As a locally-owned company, McGuffin said TIDI Waste feels a need to do more than meet requirements.

C.M. Boggs, marketing director of the Iris Glen landfill operated by Waste Management in Johnson City, said, "Waste Management is the largest solid waste company in the world," with large financial resources and also large environmental and engineering staffs that can be brought in for any problem here, as they can for the company's other 280 U.S. landfills.

Boggs said Sullivan County now faces potential liability issues dating from a time that a small, locally owned landfill that now has problems was used by the county.

Boggs said that the elected bodies should, "before you decide, go visit each facility." Since the city and county are getting ready to spend $1 million per year, "See where your waste is going," he said.

Boggs said that the $31,000 annual difference between the Waste Management bid and the TIDI Waste bid might turn out to be "pretty cheap for an insurance policy."

After more discussion, Webster said that, although the contract termination "has to be done today," the city and county do not have to move as quickly to award the new contract.

"The recommendation does not have to be done today," Webster said, especially since some commissioners did not have time to study the recommendations.

"It would be great to have everybody in the room look at all the figures," Webster said, in view of the "very stiff monetary commitment by the city and county" that the contract represents.

Greeneville Attorney Ron Woods agreed with Webster, both on the need to terminate the existing contract, since all of the bids were significantly lower, and on the lack of urgency in awarding a new contract.

Greeneville Alderman Paxton asked the companies if they check garbage trucks looking for problem waste, and specifically asked about radiation.

Boggs of Waste Management said "the whole load" on every tenth truck is gone through. He said that if problem waste is accepted, "the system is set up" so that "everybody at the landfill" suffers financially, and "bonuses suffer." He said this makes everyone especially vigilent.

Barrett, of Allied Waste, said his company, like others, is required to inspect 10 percent of loads, and inspects more than that percentage. Barrett also said his company has radiation monitors on the waste scale that are so sensitive that his body set of the alarm.

Paxton noted that much of the saving involves shorter transportation distances, and asked if that will mean layoffs of city or county workers.

Mayor King said it was her understanding that someone retiring soon may not be replaced.

Webster said, "No one is expected to lose their job because of having to go shorter distances. It should work out" through normal attrition, she said.

Commissioner Jerry Weems said that, if replacing the existing contract with a bid will save more than $800,000, "I recommend that if we terminate today, we accept another contract today."

Webster again said, "We still have the option to look at landfill sites, or study more," by delaying a new contract.

Woolsey told the committee that he had "taken the liberty" of forwarding the old contract with BFI to officials at TIDI Waste, since the old contract is expected to be the basis for the new one.

He said a great deal of time was spent developing the BFI contract in 2004, and though extensive negotiations are not expected, "We need to get on with it," and enter into contract negotiations.

"I would recommend, to the county commission at least, that you terminate," Woolsey said, and also vote to award the contract and begin negotiations, "unless there's some valid reason to wait. Most of us have known this was coming up" for some time.

Once the vote was taken to terminate the BFI contract, Barrett asked if it might be possible to renegotiate "with the current contractor," his company, on the five years remaining on the contract that had just been terminated.

Mayor King said, "I don't think we can." Attorney Woods agreed, saying, "The basic premise behind the request for proposals was for everybody to put their best shot forward."

Before the city board voted on accepting the TIDI Waste bid, Alderman Webster said, "I may or may not agree with what the (solid waste) board recommended, but as chairman, shouldn't I excuse myself from voting?"

Woods said that he could see no legal reason why she would have to refrain from voting. "That's a decision you need to make," he said.

Webster then joined the board members present to unanimously accept the TIDI Waste bid.

Alderman W.T. Daniels was absent, as were County Commissioners Bill Brown, Rennie Hopson, and Tim White.