Three private waste haulers will get nearly $1.2 million in “extraordinary services” pay from the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County for collecting nearly 95,000 extra cubic yards of trash in the days after Hurricane Matthew’s pass.
County commissioners who sit as the board approved the outlay Wednesday at their regular meeting. The money will come from a reserve.
The authority said just after the storm that volume was about 40 percent higher the Monday and Tuesday after the Oct. 6 storm than it was for Sept. 26-27, before the storm became a threat. Waste haulers hired subcontractors and paid overtime to handle the extra volume.
The authority said Matthew knocked down a lot of vegetation but people also took the opportunity during preparation and cleanup to do mini-spring cleanings. The problem grew geometrically when pickups were canceled for Oct. 6-7.
Waste Pro, which covers Service Area 1 — coastal central and northern Palm Beach County — billed for 94,396 cubic yards, for a total of $1.18 million. Area 1 had the most effects as Matthew angled in on its march up the coast.
Republic Services, which services Area 3 — mostly in southern Palm Beach County — submitted a summary of 1,376 extra cubic yards, for a total of $17,208.
And Advanced Disposal, in Area 2 — parts north and west of Area 1 — collected an estimated 9,400 cubic yards and requested about $120,000; the board authorized staff to decide on the amount.
The fourth provider, Waste Management (Areas 4 and 5), did not report especially heavy collections in those areas and did not submit for extra pay.
Authority staff met last month with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which made a declaration for 15 coastal Florida counties at the end of October, and is about to submit a formal package requesting financial aid.
At Wednesday’s meeting, board member Melissa McKinlay asked about five cleanup firms that the authority had on standby but didn’t use.
Director of Customer Relations John Archambo said the first hauler on the standby list declined the job and the year-round haulers offered to the work for the same price as the standby firms. He also said FEMA had not yet declared a disaster for the county, the regular haulers already were in the field, and “our first assessment of the other didn’t look that bad. Then all the materials started showing up at the curb.”
Mary McNicholas, a lobbyist representing Broward County-based Bergeron Emergency Services, which would have been paid $7.50 a yard had it been called in, said her firm was unhappy it hadn’t been activated. The authority said she was ranked fifth among standby firms.
Also Wednesday, the board picked McKinlay, the authority’s vice chair, as the new chair. McKinlay also is county vice mayor.
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