ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Less than a month after beginning waste services in St. Johns County, the company FCC Environmental Services was kicked to the curb on Tuesday amid complaints from thousands of residents over service disruptions.
Commissioners met Tuesday morning and took up an emergency motion to talk about the FCC contract and disastrous rollout.
Following a long discussion with the CEO of the company, county officials and upset residents, commissioners voted unanimously to terminate FCC’s contract.
“It appears to me there was a breach of contract from day one. And you left us during a hurricane. You have created in our community a public safety and a public health crisis,” said Commissioner Sarah Arnold, who was one of the customers who didn’t have their trash picked up on Monday. “I personally can say I have lost all trust in FCC. I believe the majority of our residents would feel the same way.”
Commissioners voted last year to award a $28.2 million contract — which was millions less than the next highest bidder — to FCC Environmental Services to take over trash pickup for the entire county, and it began servicing 112,000 residents in the county on Aug. 1.
Since then, the complaints have been rolling in as residents report trash left on the ground, incorrect pickups and cans left in the middle of streets. The county said Tuesday it has received more than 7,000 calls about service issues and 3,000 complaints on its app. The county said there have been more than 13,000 service inspections by county staff which has cost 2,200 hours. The county said it is clocking all the hours to get reimbursed from FCC.
Dan Brazil, CEO of FCC, spoke Tuesday morning and issued an apology to commissioners and the public before the vote that ended its services.
Some have said they’ve gone weeks without their yard waste being removed, and others complained of the smell after their trash was left untouched for so long.
“We’ve already come out here multiple times to pick it all up. And we’re still dealing with it with all this,” Mara Hickox, resident of the Holly Forest neighborhood of Silverleaf, said.
Hickox and her husband, Ryan, said they found a few things that weren’t theirs in their yard, and that trash was supposed to be picked up last week but that did not happen until last Sunday.
Saturday marked the end of a week-long “cure period.” Under the county’s contract with FCC, the company was granted that time to fix issues with pickups, but it appears that didn’t happen.
While leaders work through formally terminating FCC, the county plans to bring in contractors to help pick up the trash and a long-term solution will be decided later.
FCC is also set to take over Clay County services on Oct. 1.
An FCC staff member addressed the Clay County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday and explained what happened in St. Johns County.
“Our technology failed, and why did it fail? We are researching that now,” Vice President of Business Development Charles Merkley said.
News4JAX reached out to Clay County commissioners Monday to find out if the St. Johns County situation could impact their contract with FCC.
They sent us the following statement:
The County working closely with FCC Environmental to ensure the transition to the new garbage and yard waste service is done to the level we all expect. We met with FCC Environmental staff this week and talked about how they’re handling several factors that are key to a smooth transition here in Clay County.
FCC Environmental staff also addressed the Board of County Commissioners at this Tuesday’s meeting. You can watch the meeting and their presentation on our website here https://clayfl.new.swagit.com/videos/312249 starting at the 52:57-minute mark. During the presentation, FCC staff spoke about the issues in St. Johns County, and addressed the steps they’re taking to create a successful transition here in Clay County.
As we go through the next several weeks, we will continue to work closely with FCC to make sure all of the steps are completed within the transition plan ahead of the October 1 start date. We’ll continue to keep our community updated as we move through this process. We also have a full list of frequently asked questions on our website and you can find that here https://www.claycountygov.com/community/garbage-and-recycling/new-garbage-services
Clay County Bord of County Commissioners