RECYCLING CONTRACT FIGHT REACHES TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING

The Township Committee on Tuesday approved a new curbside recycling contract for the planned switch to weekly pick-up in 2015, but not before a lengthy debate and verbal battle over mistakes made in the bidding process that will likely end up in court.

Attorneys for two of the firms bidding for the contract duked it out verbally after one of the bidders claimed the low bidder should be disqualified.

At issue is the request for proposal that went out last month and required potential bidders to submit their bids on November 25.

That request for proposal was the second for this program after the first request in October resulted in just one bidder, F. Basso Jr. Rubish Removal, with a bid of $499,000 that was deemed too high.
 
On the most recent request for proposal in November, four firms bid, with Bella Cleaning and Carting of Ridgewood offering the lowest bid at $198,240.

But the second lowest bidder, Gaeta Recycling of Paterson, claimed the lowest bid was improperly submitted and blamed the Township for failing to provide information on an addendum to the request. Gaeta's bid was $243,400.

On Tuesday night, attorneys for Gaeta and Bella appeared before the TC and sparked debate and discussion that lasted nearly two hours.

When the dust settled, the TC voted, 3-2., to award the contract to Bella, with TC members Jerry Ryan and India Larrier voting against the proposal.

But the vote did not come easy as the committee debated numerous issues related to how the request was advertised, the fact that the date for submission was mistakenly changed and if an addendum was properly distributed to bidders.

"I want to apologize to both of you because we screwed up," De Luca told both parties. "We made a mistake on the date and we had to issue an addendum...that has muddied the waters."

"I think we were deficient on that..we made a mistake on the date and we made  a mistake on the notification. My position is that we ought to give the contract to Bella."

But Ryan disagreed, citing concerns that Bella did not yet have the proper equipment. "I'm afraid we will find ourselves in the position where this new business may not find it is ready for prime time yet."

Larrier agreed, adding, "I am still not clear what equipment is in place."

Although the TC made its decision, it is almost certain that the awarding of the contract will likely be challenged in court by Gaeta. Stay tuned!