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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Redford considers dumping trash contract as gripes grow
Scott Daniel 1:13 p.m. EDT August 12, 2016
(ORE
Redford’s Board of Trustees is considering opting out of the township’s trash collection contract early.
Supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz told trustees at their Aug. 9 study session the township has recently fielded numerous complaints about services provided by Allied Waste Systems Inc. She said complaints range from trash and recycling items not being picked up to debris being left behind.
With the current agreement set to expire on June 30, 2017, Schultz Kobylarz asked whether trustees wanted to consider soliciting for a new contract sooner rather than later.
“I’ve seen firsthand some of the issues with this contract,” said Trustee Jay Johnson, who added they he had to make “multiple calls” to get a problem resolved with the company. “I have no problem going out to bid early.”
Clerk Garth Christie agreed.
“It’s not too early to start gathering information,” he said, “and hearing from the citizens.”
Allied Municipal Services Manager Scott Cabauatan was somewhat surprised about the complaints. He said he has not heard from the township about them, but vowed to meet with Redford officials to resolve any problems.
“We’re a longtime contractor in Redford Township,” Cabauatan said, adding that the relationship stretches back nearly two decades. “We’ve always provided a high level of services to the township and its residents.”
The township will face a lengthy process if it decides to opt out of the contract early.
According to the agreement, Redford must send Allied a cancellation letter and then meet with the company within 20 days to discuss specific service problems. Arbitration would follow if problems aren’t resolved. The contract could then only be terminated if an arbitrator agreed that Allied had failed to “perform its obligations.”
In all, the process could take about two months to complete. Christie said the township should make sure it has all of its ducks in a row before making a move.
“We’ve got to figure out what we want,” he said, “the type of service we want.”
Allied is a subsidiary of Republic Systems Services Inc. The company services more than a dozen municipalities in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe and Washtenaw counties.
Redford’s current contract with Allied started July 1, 2012. Cabauatan described the past four years of the contract as smooth sailing. He believes the company has been responsive when complaints have been made.
“We’ve been on the ball and come up with good solutions,” Cabauatan said.
Leland Blaim recently registered one of those complaints. The nine-year township resident said Allied failed to pick up his garbage for a week because his trash can was marked as oversized.
“It’s the same can I’ve been using for four years,” said Blaim, who lives near West Chicago and Inkster roads. “It was a real slap in the face.”
After complaining to Allied, he said the trash was picked up and that he has gone back to using his old garbage can. Blaim described the company’s services as being lackluster.
“They do pick up our garbage,” he said. “But you never know when they’re going to show up. Sometimes it’s early in the morning and other times it’s late in the afternoon.”
srdaniel@hometownlife.com | 734-672-5026
346 CONNECTTWEETLINKEDIN 4 COMMENTEMAILMORE |
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Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:06 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Republic bought out Allied |
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Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:08 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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AC Dumas
August 11 at 7:13pm ·
Here is the authority of the RTAB. The Board has control over all financial matters of the City of Flint. The Board probably will strip the Flint City Council o...
See More
Michigan Legislature - Section 141.1563
The Michigan Legislature Website is a free service of the Legislative Internet Technology Team in cooperation with the Michigan Legislative Council, the Michigan…
LEGISLATURE.MI.GOV |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:46 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Resolutions – City of Flint
www.cityofflint.com/rtab/resolutions
RTAB. Orders; Reports; Resolutions; Public Act ... Resolution to Confirm the City of Flint’s Support of the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission’s 2015 ...
Go to RTAB Home and at bottom of page go to meeting agendas and minutes |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:48 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The July 22, 2016 minutes of the board are 64 pages long. But the reading is easy as it is transcribed by a court reporter. Nelson dis not address the board and allowed 9th Ward Councilman William Scott kincaid and former DPW Director Kay (Poplar) Muhammed to carry his message.
I could not believe how Muhammed kept saying her committee was not complete with the bid when they started "over a year" before the administration awarded the contract. Come on, a whole year plus and you couldn't get a simple bid done when you admitted you had a boiler plate bid package to start from? Although Muhammed was on sick leave for about 4 months, there must have been someone in the department who could finish the deal. This started under Walling and most discussions were with his former staff.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:00 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The crux of the issue appears to be a vague 5 year blight elimination plan. The DPW
established some form of committee involving citizens and it is this committee evaluating the bids under some value of "intangibles". In other words, the DPW and Council want a trash hauling company to also manage our blight.
Increasing the loads the garbage trucks must haul to the landfills will severely complicate the process as this was dealt with in 1997. The EM set limits on what was to be picked up when the contract to Republic was give, He also inflated the contract, according to a statement given by Kincaid to Channel 12. kincaid said this was because Republic was paying $1.7million for our trucks (which cost over $3.1 million) and was to hire some of Flint's trash employees. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:13 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint Journal, October 8,1997, page A1, Linda Angelo:
GARBAGE HAULING TERMS CHANGED, MEMO CHARGES
SANITATION OFFICIAL OBJECTS TO ALTERED CRITERIA FOR BIDS
Flint's sanitation supervisor Edison K. Henry Sr. wrote an August 15, 1997 memo to DPW Director J Bennett Jones thtat he was withdrawing from multi-million dollar trash contract after City Administrator David Ready asked him several times to "change the criteria" for the vendors proposals
Henry stated opposition to the new methods used to evaluate the bids on the basis of the transportation of household and lawn waste to the landfills.
Ready said the criteria had not changed, but the original assumptions were incorrect as to the amount of overtime necessary to transport to the different landfills. Ready called it a correction. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:29 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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At the time of the bids Citizens Disposal held the contract and was the lowest bidder of the bid process in the early summer. After the "corrections" the new low bidder was City Management Inc. Former mayor James Sharp was a top executive of City management and a long time ally of then Mayor Stanley.
While the trash contract had expired on June 30, Citizens Disposal was given two 60 day extensions.
While it was reported that council members privately stated the contract seemed to show political favoritism, they declined to comment publicly on the bids at that time.
Ready stated the administration was not contract"steering".
Henry said he was uncomfortable after one (unidentified) vendor complained about the process and attended a meeting with knowledge of the exact criteria used in evaluation, including the city wage rates.
Henry said Citizens Disposal complained that they were unable to obtain that information despite two FOIA requests.
Citizens Disposal attorney Jerry O'Rourke stated only wanted to evaluate if the factors and formulas were correct. Ready countered saying the timing was suspicious as O'Rourke also requested the memo from Henry. O'Rourke threatened court action if they did not receive the information before the council meeting to approve the contract. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:48 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Note: Many large corporations, trash companies included, establish employee PACS to increase the amount of funding that can be donated. They also donate to other political PACS. It is not uncommon to see high ranking employees of a corporation making campaign donations to a candidate.
In this instance, Angelo reported "employees of City management including Sharp and owner Anthony Soave- contributed to Stanley's 1995 re-election campaign. Angelo indicated that while Citizens disposal also donated to the campaign, the donations from City management were significantly higher in the campaign finance reports. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:57 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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A second Henry memo to Jones stated Henry had some"serious concerns" over factors not considered in the process.
The distance and transport time to the landfills was one criteria. City management's landfill was 42 miles away and 60 minutes from the city. Citizen's Disposal was in Grand Blanc, 17 miles away and 30 minutes from Flint according to city documents.
Henry's memo said"Sanitation, as do other divisions, often work with limited personnel. Often it is necessary for crews to work more than one route When this occurs, the proximity of the landfill to the collector and routes has a major bearing on our ability to complete routes."
Jones also asked to be removed from the bid process. Neither Henry nor Jones was available for comment. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:20 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Angelo showed the original proposal for the three year contract :
Citizen's Disposal - $4.45 million
City management- $5.08 million
With the new calculations:
Citizen's Disposal - $4.18 million
City management $4.52 million
Under various city calculations the final proposed cost is unclear wrote Angelo. |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:28 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Angelo's quotes from Ready make no sense to me.
"Ready said manpower changes i the sanitation division within the last three years was one reason why the formula had to be reconsidered."
"Now we have fewer employes , so overtime is a bigger issue, he said" |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:31 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Isn't overtime what Henry referenced? So why select the bidder with the greatest potential for overtime especially when they don't appear to be the low bidder? |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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A priceless Linda Angelo quote:
"his isn't the first time a stink has been raised about the city's trash contract. Some council members complained in 1992 over the administration's allegedly trying to steer city composting contracts to Pollard Disposal Inc. of Montrose, which is owned by City management." |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I believe Angelo is referring to a compost site created by the city near Bray and carpenter roads. The smell generated so many complaints the city needed to remove it. As I recall the resolution from the city administration was slightly under $1 million.
Council demanded a bid process and the removal was accomplished for a fraction of the administration's original resolution. ($34,000)
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:22 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:47 am |
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