Officials from the city of Kyle, Texas, have joined with representatives from Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) to announce a partnership that will not only make the city’s long-awaited Heroes Memorial Park a reality but also expand their solid waste collection program with Kyle residents.
The formal announcement was made during a recent Kyle City Council meeting. Under the renewed contract with TDS, the city will roll out both additional and expanded waste collection services to its residential customers beginning in February. This comes after several months of negotiations between city officials and TDS, which has been the service provider for the city since 1997.
In addition, TDS announced a donation of $1.5 million for the development of the city’s Heroes Memorial Park. One half of the donation ($750,000) will be in cash, while the other half ($750,000) will be presented via goods and services during the design and construction of the Heroes Memorial Park and incorporated into the streetscape throughout the uptown development, as well as the central park.
Bob Gregory, president and principal owner of TDS, presented the city with a check for $1.5 million to represent the sum of the donation.
“The Heroes Memorial Park will be the cornerstone of our new Uptown Kyle development and will really show the world how much the residents of Kyle appreciate the sacrifice of those who protect and serve us,” said Travis Mitchell, Kyle mayor, in a statement. “This memorial would not be possible without the generous support of our partner, Texas Disposal Systems, and the tireless work and commitment of our City Council and staff.”
“TDS values our strong partnership with the city of Kyle and the customers we serve. We continue to be inspired by the spirit of the community, and we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this legacy project,” said Gregory in a statement. “On behalf of TDS, we commend the city of Kyle leadership for their vision and are committed to continue providing best-in-class services to the community.”
Additional services for Kyle residents as stated in the contract will be effective beginning in February. Some of those enhanced and additional services include:
- Two bulky pickups per year (currently one is offered)
- Bulky pickups can be up to 3 cubic yards—brush must be bundled (no change)
- One free monthly drop-off to the landfill per residential household, good up to 5 cubic yards (currently there is a charge for landfill drop-offs)
- The addition of free collection of green waste placed at the curb in compostable lawn and leaf paper bags, good up to 10 bags—must be placed outside the green waste cart
- Christmas tree curbside recycling between December 26 through January 31 (not currently offered)
A rate reduction will take effect in April 2020, reducing the rate from $22.97 per month to a rate of $22.14 per month. Additionally, annual rate increases moving forward will be 2.5 percent instead of the current average of between 3 and 4 percent for residential accounts.