By Bonnie Culverhouse

Minden City Council members and Mayor Nick Cox met with Republic Services officials Tuesday to convey the wrath of their constituents over the lack of trash pick-up over the past couple of weeks … specificially last Friday, which is a normal collection day.

A large percentage of trash in the city limits of Minden remained in residents’ yards after Friday’s pick-up day had ended.

“This is an issue that’s grown in intensity for all of us,” Cox told Republic’s David Greene and Kevin Frey. “We just want the trash picked up. I don’t care if they drive down the road on pogo sticks and have aliens take it to Neptune. At the end of the day on Friday, the trash needs to be picked up. We want you to move heaven and earth to pick it up.”

The bulk of last week’s remaining trash is located in Districts D and E, while councilpersons admitted all the districts of the city had some that wasn’t collected.

It’s been around 3 years since a 7-year contract was signed between City of Minden and Republic Services for local trash collection and disposal and, per the agreement, the sanitation company was scheduled to raise its rates in 2025*.

Cox and District D and E councilmen Michael Roy and Andy Pendergrass, respectively, made it clear they want the issues with trash pick-up fixed without the city and its citizens footing the bill.

Pendergrass said in recent past, Republic representatives have promised new trucks and better efficiency, but it hasn’t been the case.

“The reality is, the trash isn’t being picked up, cans are getting broken and all these issues are happening,” he said. “Minden is becoming an increasingly trashy city.”

Roy said he feels communication is the biggest issue.

Greene, Manager of Municipal Service for North Louisiana and Western Mississippi for Republic, agrees.

“It’s a simple fix … it’s communication, 100 percent,” Greene said.

But Frey also said there have been truck breakdowns and keeping reliable employees is a big issue.

“We’ve been very patient with truck breakdowns,” Cox inserted. “We just want y’all to do as well as you’ve done in the past. And instead of getting better, things are getting worse.”

With the exception of District B councilman Charlie Thomas, who did not attend the workshop, all the council members seem unhappy with the Automatic Side Loader (ASL) trucks, which are safer for the workers, but break down more often.

“The side arm trucks aren’t working,” Pendergrass said. “And the trash can wheels break off and y’all aren’t replacing them.”

Greene and Frey told council members they will have some of the Shreveport team, a boom truck and some rear loaders in town this week to ensure all trash is removed no later than Friday, regardless of the Fourth of July holiday.

“It seems this is just getting worse, and we were promised better,” Cox said. “And we expect Republic to eat it to offset the issues. We don’t want numbers, we want results.”

Republic’s rates increased as follows:

*Monthly fees to $17.50 (residential), $15 (apartment) and $19 (business), an increase of around $6 per year.

Editor’s Note: In an effort to hear the public’s concerns on a timely basis, Mayor Nick Cox asks that all complaints and questions about trash pick-up be emailed to Kenzie Taylor at Minden City Hall. She will be the liaison among the citizens, the city and Republic. Email her at ktaylor@mindenusa.com.