Hundreds of angry e-mails and phone calls have come pouring into City Hall and the mailboxes of members of the Cape Coral City Council, and most of them are for the same thing.

Many residents, even on the mayor’s street, are fed up with garbage they say has not been picked up, or bulk waste that’s been lying on the curb for weeks, by Waste Pro, the city’s trash collector.

Now if things don’t pick up, the city says it will impose fines on Waste Pro for each incident, as provided by the terms of their contract. If things continue after that, more drastic measures, such as terminating the contract, could result, city officials said this week.

The city has received more than 500 calls from residents complaining about trash pickup this week, not including the number of e-mails council members have gotten.

A special meeting with officials from Waste Pro, is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

The city is expected to hear the issues Waste Pro is having and what the vendor is doing to correct the problem.

The meeting is open to the public.

The problems with trash collection have increased sharply over the last year, as the pandemic has resulted in a loss of personnel to drive the trucks and pick up the bulk trash, according to Waste Pro.

The city has said that’s Waste Pro’s problem, not the city’s, and that Waste Pro has to live up to the terms of the contract.

“What we need to make perfectly clear is that there’s a problem we need to address immediately. They are using procedures and policies they are trying to implement to correct the problem,” Mayor John Gunter said. “We will instill in management exactly what our expectations are.

A seven-year deal was signed between the city and Waste Pro last June, with a three-year mutual renewal option.

The contract will increase the rate of waste collection by 7 percent in 2021 and 1 percent each the following two years. The vendor was also to address a long-standing problem with bulk waste by adding a bulk trash pickup day. Some complain that bulk trash has sat uncollected on certain city properties for weeks without pickup.

During the March 26 Council workshop meeting, the elected board, led by calls from council members Dan Sheppard and Jessica Cosden, reached a consensus that the city should start fining Waste Pro for repeated issues with picking up trash.

The city sent an official notice to Waste Pro on Feb. 26 notifying them that if these issues weren’t rectified within 30 days, harsher measures would be taken, including fines.

That period ended March 28, and while fines haven’t been levied yet, they could be soon, even by before next week’s meeting.

The hold up has been the city attorney and city manager trying to gain a full understanding of the city’s legal options and how to levy those fines, according to Councilmember Tom Hayden.

“The way it looks right now, we are able to withhold payment for each incident such as trash not being picked up on a street and not per property,” said Hayden, who has received between seven and eight e-mails per day about trash. “We need to make sure the legal issues and everything is in place when we have that meeting.”

The fines schedule ranges from $250 to $1,500 per incident, as listed in the contract, and are determined by the severity of the offense.

If things continue to spiral, Gunter said the city could even sever the contract with Waste Pro, though he hopes it won’t come to that.

“I think it’s on the table. I don’t think we’ll get to that point. They entered into an agreement with a specified expectation and they’re not meeting that requirement,” Gunter said. “They either have to step up to the plate or there’s a possibility we go in a different direction. The service we’re getting at this time cannot continue.”

City spokesperson Maureen Buice said the city is invoiced at the first of the month, which is due the last Friday of the month. Any issued fines would likely be deducted from the invoice.

Bill Jones, division manager for Waste Pro, said there is a nationwide shortage of qualified commercial drivers with CDL licenses, and not a lack of trucks.

“It’s not just our industry, but the trucking industry in general. Locally, the shortage has been amplified by the nature of our economy,” Jones said. “We have a service-oriented economy, so we don’t grow a lot of CDL holders.”

Jones added potential non-CDL employees haven’t been looking for work, leading to a lack of depth there. More creative ways to find workers are being used.

“A lot of these people are getting enhanced assistance and it’s keeping a lot of people from being active in the job market,” Jones said. “We’re looking at holding job fairs and our recruiting methods and started retention bonuses and hired a firm that specializes in driver recruiting and things like that.”

Jones said they have also done some sub-contracting, asking other companies that have extra trucks to come out this week, which he believes has made an impact.

Jones said he and other Waste Pro executives realize they will have a lot of explaining to do on Wednesday, and they’re prepared for it.

“We’re listening to customers and understand their concern. That’s how we get better, so I don’t see that as a problem,” Jones said. “We have a long-standing partnership with the city. I believe this is a bump in the road caused by something out of anyone’s control, and the changes over the last 12 to 15 months in the economy has led to changes we weren’t prepared for.”

Buice said the city encourages people to submit eComments on the Waste Pro topic, since there may not be enough time for everyone to provide public input.

All eComments are made part of the packet council members receive prior to their meeting.

The special meeting will be followed by Council’s regular meeting set for 4:30 p.m.

Both meetings will be in Council Chambers.

City Hall is at 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.