County councillors to vote on waste collection contract

CORRECTION – Length of contract is 7 years, with 2-year option to renew
But key information withheld on county’s largest contract ever
By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe March 25 2012
On Tuesday, Simcoe County Council will vote on the largest contract the county has ever let.
And staff are recommending a single contractor for curbside collection across the county for the next seven to nine (corrected) years.

To date, the job has been shared by five different contractors.
Penetanguishene Mayor Gerry Marshall has been critical of several aspects of the  county’s bidding process on this contract and on March 14, when the staff report was presented to the corporate services committee, he said he could not vote on the recommendation because the report does not provide dollar amounts.
Instead, councillors were given a report based on the point system under which the contractors are evaluated. The proposal from Contractor “A” was 500 points, with Contractor “B” coming in at 407 points. Report CS 12-039 does state that Proposal A represents a savings of over $2 milllion a year, and includes some progressive compoennts such as the use of an alternative fuel for fleet vehicles.
The contractors who submitted proposals were: BFI, Emterra, Green For Life, Mid Ontario Disposal, Miller Waste Systems, Modern Landfill, Moreau Enterprises and Waste Management
Marshall proposed going in camera so he could be told the total cost of the contract. But procurement director Dawn Hipwell said that to disclose that and other details would jeopardize the county’s negotiating position. If council requests it, staff can come back with a report after the contract is signed, she said.
Marshall said he could not support getting the information after the fact.
He explained that he also favours having two contractors, as an “ìnsurance policy,“ rather than going to a single service provider.
As in previous debates on this topic, Marshall was alone with his concerns, casting the sole vote against the staff report.
Other committee members in attendance were chair Ken Ferguson (Clearview), Rick Lloyd (Collingwood), Linda Collins (Springwater), Terry Dowdall (Essa), Stephan Kramp (Midland), George Lawrence (Tiny), Mike Burkett (Severn), Ralph Hough (Oro-Medonte), Mike MacEachern (New Tecumseth) and Harry Hughes (Oro-Medonte).
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