The majority of Sammamish residents are pleased with their utility services and want to keep costs low, a recent survey showed.

The city of Sammamish contracted with Elway Research Inc. to collect residents’ thoughts on basic service providers since the city’s garbage and recycling contracts expire at the end of 2016.

The Seattle-based public opinion surveying organization contacted more than 450 randomly selected Sammamish residents by phone and online, as well as 20 commercial entities, in January and February.

The majority of surveyors said they were unwilling to pay more for improved services, like being able to recycle more types of materials.

Weighing the proposal of combining garbage, recycling and yard or food waste collection into a single-bill service, more than half recognized the benefits of overall reduced customer costs and the benefit to the environment. More than half of the respondents also recognized forcing this on non-users was a significant downside.

Sammamish City Council discussed the upcoming parameters of its 2017 solid waste contract during the Committee of the Whole meeting at city hall Monday evening.

Council agreed to keep garbage and recycling bundled and to offer food and yard waste pick-up as an add-on option, as it is now.

About two-thirds of the residents surveyed said they were not likely to use weekly yard and food waste collection services if it were offered in the winter months. The current solid waste contract provides organic pick-up every other week December through February.

In line with that, the council agreed to retain the current system. City staff will still ask contractors to include the prices for providing every-other-week and weekly services during the winter.

The city contracts two garbage pickup providers, Waste Management Inc. and Republic Services Inc.

Waste Management serves the residents north of Northeast Eighth Street and Inglewood Hill Road. Republic Services pick up waste in the southern portion of the city, south of Northeast Eighth Street and Inglewood Hill Road.

Ninety percent of Sammamish residents who participated in the survey are Comcast customers; more than 60 percent of them thought Comcast services are too high. Comcast last had a contract with the city in 2004.

The cable portion of the survey was not discussed at the council meeting, Monday. Staff wanted to ensure adequate attention was given to the discussion; the cable services discussion has yet to be determined.

To view the survey results, visit http://www.sammamish.us/files/packet/14585.pdf.