COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Commission at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, approved a new three-year contract with Waste Pro Inc. that comes with a slight rate increase for curbside garbage collection customers.

The monthly rate for customers in unincorporated Shelby County will increase 1.5 percent, according to the resolution approved by the Commission:

• Residential 1 rate will increase from $12.25 to $12.43.
• Residential 2 rate will increase from $19.93 to $20.23.
• Residential 3 rate will increase from $22.02 to $22.35.
• Residential 4 rate will increase from $24.12 to $24.96.
• Natural disaster rate will increase from $2.62 per cubic yard to $2.66 per cubic yard.

The new rates will take effect on Oct. 1.

The new contract runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2022.

In other business, the Commission:

• Heard that County Manager Alex Dudchock was recently recognized with the Excellence in County Government Award.
• Heard from Bob Barefield with the Alabama National Cemetery Support Committee about fundraising efforts for a $609,000 project at the National Cemetery in Montevallo. “We were close on the funding, and Alex and [Shelby County Chief Development Officer Chad Scroggins] came on board and said, ‘We will help you,’” Barefield said. Construction has begun on the project, with a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Sept. 6.
• Approved amendments to the Subdivision Regulations of Shelby County that is “intended to facilitate a wider range of new residential, non-residential and mixed use development to the Coosa River and Lay Lake recreational areas by automatically qualifying properties within one-quarter mile of the Coosa River as Tier 1 scoring based on the recreational and environmental characteristics of the river, the predominant pattern of residential development in the area, and the Coosa River’s function as a regional vacation destination,” according to information provided to the Commission.
• Approved a restaurant retail liquor license to permit the retail sale of alcohol at Pho Place by Hung Van Huynh LLC.