Parkersburg City Councilman Mike Reynolds, left, and Mayor Tom Joyce confer prior to the start of a public meeting on sanitation issues Tuesday in council chambers. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — City officials are looking to secure a lower price for proposed recycling services after Parkersburg City Council voted to table a contract ordinance Tuesday night.

And Mayor Tom Joyce said the plan is to close the city’s recycling center, although a representative of the Wood County Solid Waste Authority hopes it can be preserved as a community recycling option.

The proposed contract with Rumpke was on first reading at Tuesday’s special council meeting. It would charge those who want to recycle $15.25 a month in the first year, rising to $15.86 in the second year and $16.49 in the third. Options for two additional years would see the monthly rate go to $17.15, then $17.84. Participants would have to pay six months in advance.

“I think we need to circle the wagons and come up with a more fair and equitable solution,” council President Andrew Borkowski said Wednesday.

Before any discussion on the proposed contract during Tuesday’s special council meeting, Borkowski said he would entertain a motion to table the first reading of the ordinance. Councilman Zak Huffman made the motion, without initially specifying for how long.

Mayor Tom Joyce, seated left, answers a question from Parkersburg resident Greg Sanders, right, during a public meeting on sanitation Tuesday in Parkersburg City Council chambers. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Councilman Mike Reynolds suggested 60 days, while Borkowski responded with a week. Finance Director Eric Jiles indicated a week would be sufficient, but Huffman proposed tabling the ordinance until the Feb. 10 council meeting, which was approved by unanimous vote.

One concern among council members is a provision in the contract that says the service requires a minimum of 900 participants and if there are fewer, the city would have to pay the difference.

“I’m afraid at $15, we may not get to that amount,” Borkowski said.

Jiles on Wednesday said officials are “working out a plan to make the recycling program significantly cheaper for residents” but it had not been finalized Tuesday.

Joyce has said the subscription-based model places the cost on those who want to recycle, noting curbside recycling has been a part of the city-run sanitation service for years with only about 25% to 30% of residents participating. Joyce said he wants to see what the city can come up with to make recycling more affordable for those who want to while having the least impact on those who do not.

Parkersburg resident Alisa Prince, left, addresses city officials including Mayor Tom Joyce, seated left, and Finance Director Eric Jiles during a public meeting on sanitation issues Tuesday in Parkersburg City Council chambers. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Some residents speaking at a public meeting prior to the special council session Tuesday said the recycling price was too high.

“If I have to pay an extra $200 a year, I don’t know how faithful I’m going to be as far as recycling goes,” Caroline Eyberg said.

Resident William Smith said those who recycle are doing the right thing.

“No one ever told the 70% that they were paying for my recycling. Perhaps they would have participated,” he said.

Caci Petrehn said during the special meeting’s public forum that making recycling more expensive takes away an option for people who want to reduce the amount of trash they generate to not be charged extra under the new proposed solid waste contract with Waste Management.

Also during the public forum, county Solid Waste Authority Board member Wayne Dunn asked council to table the recycling contract vote until a meeting of county and municipal officials could be held to discuss options. His concern was the impending closure of the recycling center, only referred to as the MRF for Municipal Recycling Facility or Material Recovery Facility.

“We need this recycling program,” he said Wednesday. “It’s been good in the past. It’ll be good in the future.”

Joyce said during Tuesday’s meetings that everyone who uses the facility should have “skin in the game.”

“It shouldn’t be just the rate-payers and taxpayers of the City of Parkersburg that pay for it,” he said.

Dunn agreed Wednesday.

“That’s a valid concern. That needs addressed,” he said.

In addition to the city Sanitation Department, private citizens and commercial haulers have taken recyclable materials to the MRF for years, at no charge. Joyce said the facility saw a combined $3.8 million operating loss from fiscal year 2019 to 2025, with the sale of recyclable materials yielding a total of $722,153 during that time.

That’s one of the factors, along with staffing vacancies, that led to curbside recycling being suspended in May and led to the proposed sanitation and recycling contracts.

The Solid Waste Authority is planning a meeting with county commissioners and the mayors and councils of Parkersburg, Vienna, Williamstown and North Hills, Director Sarah Robinson said. A date has not been set.

“I’m open, and I will engage with (Dunn),” Joyce said.

The city stopped accepting recyclables from commercial haulers on Dec. 1. Officials said during Tuesday’s meetings there is no mechanism at the facility for measuring how much material a hauler brings in, and it would take council action to enact a fee.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com