County to vote on Athens contract Tuesday

To all those residents in Hacienda Heights upset at the prospect of a new garbage contract: the county is supposed to vote on this tomorrow. I know, I know. That doesn't mean much since they've rescheduled and postponed this vote several times.

This appeared last week in the Tribune:

LOS ANGELES - Hacienda Heights residents happy with their current trash provider breathed a brief sigh of relief Tuesday when the county postponed a vote on a new contract.

However, next week the county is expected to vote on awarding a seven-year trash hauling contract to Athens Services. The contract would replace the existing residential services provided by Valley Vista Services and Waste Management.

"Supervisor (Don) Knabe asked that this be postponed because he is awaiting some additional information," said Dave Sommers, Knabe's spokesman.

Knabe represents the Fourth District, which is the southern portion of the county and includes Hacienda Heights, Whittier and Diamond Bar.

Hacienda Heights residents said they are upset the county is considering awarding the contract to Athens, which has 19 long-term contracts with cities across Los Angeles County, including West Covina, Montebello and Monterey Park.

Athens spokesman Mike Lewis could not be reached for comment.

The proposed contract allows for a $17.72 monthly rate per customer and would be effective as of March 1. Athens was the lowest bidder out of six that responded to the Aug. 6 request for proposals.

"The whole issue is not a black and white thing. To us, it's not about one price or the other or saving $1.97 a month. It's much bigger than that," said resident Suzanne Fratto, who was among about 40 residents who attended the meeting to protest the contract. Read more.