The City of Fayetteville has partnered with Fort Liberty, soon to be renamed Fort Roland L. Bragg, in a new agreement that will see city contractors provide commercial solid waste collection services to the military installation.
The Fayetteville City Council unanimously approved the intergovernmental services agreement (IGSA) at Monday’s city council meeting after giving staff the go-ahead to explore the partnership last October. The arrangement marks the second shared services agreement between the city and installation. The first agreement, signed in 2013, was for the city to provide janitorial services for the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum. It was expanded in 2021 to include ground maintenance.
City officials said the IGSA sets the stage for the city to provide future public services for the garrison.
“This is just the beginning of us doing an interlocal contract with them, with the waste management part of it,” Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen said. “This will also go to construction, plumbing, changing out roofs. Anything that happens on Fort Liberty, we are going to have an opportunity to be partners with.”
Brook Redding, special projects manager with the city who worked to secure the agreement, said it “represents a significant step for us as a city and with Fort Liberty.”
The $6 million annual contract can be renewed annually for up to 10 years, and includes provisions for inflation-related cost adjustment, Assistant City Manager Jodi Phelps said. The agreement, Phelps said, allows Fort Liberty to “focus on their mission of defense” while providing increased staff capacity and revenue for the city.
“That revenue stream for the city allows us to grow our staff and grow our capacity in a way that allows us to reinvest back into city services and city operations,” Phelps said. “Most importantly, it has an opportunity for expansion of our IGSA program to provide other services for the installation.”
The city put out an RFP for a commercial solid waste contractor last November and has identified a contractor with solid waste collection experience at military installations across the country, Phelps said. Redding said the city’s chosen solid waste contractor was committed to hiring local residents and sourcing local goods and services. He anticipates the agreement will create more than 20 local jobs.
“That growth is important as it’s using local individuals and residents as well as providing and purchasing equipment and other systematic pieces to their operations,” Redding said. “It is a contractor with a commitment to hiring locally. They also have a commitment to the acquisition of locally sourced goods and services to include tipping and a contract commitment for supporting Fort Liberty, North Carolina and the local community overall.”
The city’s solid waste division will oversee the contractor’s work and make sure high-quality standards are met. The IGSA also comes with a secondary, contingency contract in case the primary contractor is unavailable. Staff anticipate the city’s solid waste contractor could begin collecting commercial waste at Fort Liberty as soon as next month.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
