After 25 years, J&B Disposal will increase its rates after being approved by the Macon County Board of Commissioners.
Beginning in June, the rate at local convenience centers will go from $75 to $90 per pull, centers in Buck Creek, Junaluska, Nantahala and Scaly will go from $75 to $100 per pull, and transfer trailers will go from $175 to $225.
For residential services, rates will increase 10 percent for quarterly billing and 10 percent in Highlands on an annual basis, or semiannual per billing.
“When you get there with the truck, you offload it with the empty container, you load the full container, pull it out, offload it, pick up the empty container, put it in the slot, load the full container, so you’re having to do that four times?” Commissioner Paul Higdon said. “You’re doing that for $75 per container? Even in the far regions of Nantahala? You might make a little bit of money on the Highlands side because it’s close to the office, but when you go to Nantahala and Buckcreek for $75 and you have to load that can four, five, six times. I’m just trying to educate people about the process. I just want people to know that you’re not ripping us off.”
Board chairman Jim Tate said he doesn’t have any issue with the increase, considering how much diesel fuel costs right now.
According to Bonita Hamstra, her company uses four thousand gallons of diesel every three and a half weeks.
“You are really running on a shoestring,” Tate said. “It is amazing that you are able to do this. “
Along with the rate increase, Hamstra also asked the board for an extension on J&B Disposal’s franchise agreement, which expires in Nov. 2023.
“My husband would not take the business without a franchise,” Hamstra said. “The area was small, and it needed a lot of income put into the business to bring it to where it is now and to provide personal roll off cans. We put compactors in the hospitals. We tried to bring the community up to speed. There was no service being provided by the county.”
Commissioner Josh Young said the only issue he has with signing a seven-year franchise agreement is leaving the next board with the agreement.
“Four years from this point in time, every member of this board may or may not be here,” Young said. “This whole board could change out and it is hard for me to set an agreement that is going to effect the next board.”
Hamstra said that happened previously when they signed a seven-year agreement.
“It is hard for me to go to the bank and sign my name on buying three trucks for over a half a million dollars,” Hamstra said.
Higdon said he is worried that if Hamstra were to retire, the county would have to take over.
“What concerns me is our convenience centers with three to four cans at each one of those,” Higdon said. “If, for whatever reason, you decide to take that extended vacation and retire, the county has to immediately go into business to pick up those convenience centers and I shudder thinking about how much we would incur just by capital investment to buy the trucks and stack those trucks. The cost would be phenomenal.”
Hamstra said unless she dies, she won’t be leaving anytime soon.
“I don’t neglect my business,” Hamstra said. “I take care of it, try to think ahead and prepare for anything that might happen. People have been with me for 20, 15, 10 years. I have some longstanding people with me and if I got sick and were in the hospital tomorrow, the business would go uninterrupted.”
Commissioner Ronnie Beale said he was one of John Hamstra’s first customers.
“For 20 years, Bonita has run this business and I sit amazed,” Beale said. “It is amazing what they can do, with the money they make and the services they provide. To my knowledge, I’ve never seen a complaint. I believe this is what is best for the citizens of this county.”
The rate increases and the extension of the franchise agreement was approved unanimously.
- By Christopher Lugo