FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The Fort Wayne City Council last night gave their trash contractors one last chance to show up at a Council meeting and explain what happens next after they filed for bankruptcy last month.
They didn’t show.
Councilman Russ Jehl, who has lobbied for a subpoena to force Red River Waste Solutions to appear before the Council to finally answer questions, said he wasn’t surprised.
“I’m not surprised but its in the public’s interest to flesh this out and 50 days from now likely the performance bond will expire. It’s better to see they’re a no-show now than when the bond (ends) at the end of the year.”
Jehl says he’ll draft a resolution setting up a committee that can issue that subpeona today, and it’ll go before a full council vote after it’s done. Red River has been fined repeatedly for missed pickups since 2017; with the bankruptcy filing, some city officials are worried they’ll eventually just stop providing service altogether.
“All of us have been meeting with the administration and they’re assuring us there is a plan B,” Councilman Glynn Hines said. “I think one of the concerns that I hear is ‘what if they just walk away,’ and we’ve been assured there is a planning process in place.