Lafourche eyeing SweeDee contract renewal

The Lafourche Parish Council’s Solid Waste Committee is reviewing the parish’s current solid waste contract to make a recommendation for a new five-year contract.

Presently, Houma’s SweeDee Solid Waste Disposal Company holds the parish’s five-year contract. However, the company’s contract expires in June, said Council Chairman Jerry Jones.

“The council is looking to offer other companies a chance at the contract,” he said.

Jones appointed council members Louis Richard, Lindel Toups, Phillip Gouaux and Michael Delatte to serve on the four-man committee. The councilmen represent the north, south, east, and west portion of the parish, he said.

The committee had its first meeting last Tuesday. The group elected Gouaux as its chairman to direct the group as they search for a new solid waste company.

“Forming this group was the best option for us,” the chairman-elect said. “Our new solid waste contract needs to be better than the one we had. Not to say that SweeDee didn’t do a good job for us, because they did. We just want to go one step further.”

The first task of business was to have Jerome Danos, the parish’s solid waste manager, research other solid waste contract rates from neighboring parishes like St. Mary, Terrebonne and Assumption. Gouaux said the parish would use the other contracts as a basis for the new contract.

Danos has also been asked to formulate a list of residential complaints. Gouaux said those complaints will be corrected in the new contract to provide better services to the residents.

The committee also wants to bring in the cities of Lockport and Golden Meadow to help research the contract. Gouaux said their input would bring more ideas to the table.

“We are looking to present the council with a ‘Cadillac’ contract first,” he said. “And, if we need to make changes to it to reduce it then we will.”