Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Trash and recycling containers are seen in a residential yard in Houghton. The city council heard discussion of a new draft contract with Waste Management Wednesday.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton City Council will consider a new contract with Waste Management for trash and recycling later this month.

City Manager Eric Waara previewed the features of a new five-year contract at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. The contract would be effective June 1. Service would remain the same until after college graduation in May, with conversion happening over the summer.

Waste Management is proposing a switch to bins being picked up by automated truck. The current proposal calls for 96-gallon bins, though that is still to be settled, Waara said.

“We might want to talk to them about a different-sized standard container,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s going to be healthy for a user-charge system to have too many variations in container sizes … this type of service is automated, and if it’s not in the container, it’s not getting picked up.”

Waara said the city would talk with Waste Management about people being allowed to use bins they had gotten for $10 from the city at the start of the residential recycling program. People might have to find other uses for those containers, Waara said.

Trash would be picked up weekly, while recycling would be every other week. Larger waste generators would also have to obtain dumpster service independent of residential pickup.

In the proposed contract, residential rates would move to a flat monthly charge. Currently, homes pay $6.50 per month plus the cost of bags — $1 for large and 50 cents for small. They would now pay flat rates of $13.25 per month for trash and $5 per month for recycling.

Rates would dip slightly for average homes, which pay about $19 per month now. There would be an additional charge for people needing extra bins; past a certain point, they will need large container service. Combined homeowners will also have a flat rate, which has yet to be determined.

Houghton’s service has been with Waste Management for decades, Waara said. It was the lowest bidder in 2016, when the city put out bids for what became the current contract for trash and single-stream recycling.

Eagle Waste, which met with the city in 2016, was subsequently bought out by another company and doesn’t offer service in the area, Waara said. Neither does the nearest other service, GFL Environmental in Kingsford.

The council was not asked to take any action at Wednesday’s meeting. It is expected to consider the contract on Oct. 26.

In other action, the council:

Approved a bid from MJO Contracting for $293,087.30 for replacing two culverts at Kestner Waterfront Park. A state grant will cover $320,000 of the $400,000 cost, which includes the city’s purchase of the new culvert. The other $80,000 will be split between the city’s water and sewer funds. The work will be done in the fall or early winter to avoid spring runoff and the peak usage of the park in summer.

Approved moving its Nov. 23 meeting to Nov. 30. The organizational meeting will take place 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15. The council’s Dec. 28 meeting may be canceled if there would be nothing on the agenda.

Heard from Waara the city’s annual lead and copper sampling in the water system had found minimum contaminant levels. He also asked residents to report any streetlights that are out to the city, and asked residents

Approved the purchase of a new truck for the transit mechanic from Keweenaw Chevrolet for $66,244. The state will provide $48,396; the remaining $17,848 will come from the city’s transit fund.