Columbia enters agreement with company to clean out homeless camps

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia on Thursday entered an agreement with Utah-based EnviroServe that involves cleaning out homeless camps around the city.

A city spokeswoman wrote in an email that bids were requested because the city will often not have the specialized equipment needed to deal with hazardous materials and other items left behind.

The contract shows that pricing is service-based, with a one-to-five-person crew costing $2,721.05 per hour, a six-to-15-person crew costing $5,973.46 per hour and a crew of 16-30 people costing $10,996.50. Cost is also added for 25% of materials used. Cleanups cannot exceed $50,000.

City spokeswoman Sydney Olsen wrote that there could be the potential of more companies being awarded a contract.

The city spent more than $8,000 on a clearing out homeless encampments in 2023, according to a previous ABC 17 News report.