Only the two lowest bidders for the trash contract appeared before council on Monday night to plead their case for the award of the contract to provide trash service for West Easton. Advanced Disposal and LMR Disposal were only about $600 apart when submitting their bids.
Advanced Disposal bid $551,471.00 for 5 years of service, while LMR Disposal bid $552,100.00 for the same term.
Both representatives presented compelling arguments to be awarded the bid and considering the proximity of their bids, it could have been justified to award either company the contract.
Advanced Disposal noted that they own their own landfills.
LMR Disposal pointed out that their base of operations in Phillipsburg, NJ, puts them only minutes away from West Easton.
The LMR Disposal representative also advised council that the requirement of $10 million in liability, per the bid outline may be restrictive to smaller hauling companies who might not have bid because of the increased expense. He noted that other surrounding communities require less liability coverage, and his own ability to bid had to take into account an increase of about $600/mo. in his cost, to meet that requirement.
Advanced Disposal, the larger company, already carries about $50 million in liability coverage according to their representative, but did agree with LMR Disposal our requirement is more than other communities, most larger than our own.
The Council took note of that observation and plans to investigate the possibility that West Easton’s $10 million requirement may be excessive.
Questions were asked by members of Council regarding the age of the trucks, keeping to the regular Thursday pickups, recycling requirements, and other concerns.
Though there was some obvious sympathy from a couple of council members for the smaller company, LMR, who narrowly missed being the lowest bidder, there was nothing presented that could overwhelmingly result in awarding them the contract, over that of the lowest bidder, Advanced.
Ultimately, a 5-year contract was awarded to Advanced Disposal, with only Councilman Tom Nodoline voting against them, basing his decision on wanting Waste Management, the highest bidder, to have the opportunity to rebid by throwing out all bids, referencing a post I had written previously, as justification for his “Nay” vote.
Waste Management, who the Mayor stated were upset about my post and is our current service provider, did not appear before Council to voice any concern, or argue to be awarded the contract.
The award to Advanced Disposal is estimated to save about 20% on that portion of trash collection to be found on future quarterly trash and sewer bills, after they begin service.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
