BELLAIRE — Bellaire Village Council learned about an outside garbage service during Thursday’s regular meeting.

Representatives of Republic Services, Zach Alexander and Tom Geary, said they wanted to reach out to the village and offer their trash collection services. Republic Services provides trash collection for Brookside and recently put in a bid to do business with the village of Bridgeport.

Hiring an outside company to do trash collection is something the village has mulled in the past but never acted on. It was noted that this time the village is short a CDL driver and one driver is set to go on vacation in September.

Geary said Brookside residents pay about $14.65 per month, and that price includes the cost of the company also doing the billing service.

Geary said a final price can vary depending on what is included in a municipality’s contract. Republic Services also owns the Short Creek Landfill in Wheeling.

Council took no action related to the company.

In other matters, resident Wayne Price spoke before council and said he demanded an apology from Police Chief Dick Flanagan on behalf of his department for officers arresting him. Price said the charges levied against him eventually were dropped in court, describing the arrest as “false.”

Price did not mention the nature of the arrest.

“You’re not getting an apology from me,” Flanagan said, adding his officers were only doing their job on the day in question.

Price, who mentioned he was a deacon at a church, became angry, saying he prayed that God would “rain fire and brimstone on your department.”

After the meeting, Flanagan said Price originally was arrested for breaking into an apartment he owns.

Price allegedly was trying to illegally evict a woman during a moratorium on evictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new moratorium on evictions was ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week and will last through Oct. 3.

In other matters, resident John Leonard said he wanted to volunteer to help clean out the fountain at Village Park when a new water pump is found. The fountain has been turned off after it was discovered it was not circulating water but constantly using new water to keep it running.

Leonard said he and other volunteers did some work to spruce up the park this past weekend.

Meanwhile, village Solicitor Michael Shaheen informed council of an event happening on Saturday and presented by the Arc of Ohio, a group that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Everyone’s Got Talent is slated from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Clairsville Amphitheater. There is no admission fee. There will be free children’s entertainment, a dunk tank, vendors, food trucks and more.

Council also held a moment of silence to mark the passing of village employee Brian Seevers. Seevers, 55, died July 24. He was the plant operator for the village’s water department.

Also, a meeting for both the finance and ordinance committees was scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 10 in council chambers.