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Topic: "First the water, now the trash"
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

"First the water, now the trash" read the headline of the New York Times story as it addressed how the bickering over the trash contract led Flint's Mayor Karen Weaver to stop trash pickups. Weaver told residents to keep the trash inside away from animals who might break it open. This story was then reported in numerous national publications.

Weaver, backed by a group of Concerned Pastors for Social Action and supporters, was adamant that Rizzo Services was going to be awarded the trash contract, even if it meant an emergency purchase order had to be used. Council called the procurement process flawed and corrupt. Overall the Flint governance was portrayed as being driven by cronyism, discors and dysfunction.

The New York Times story portrayed some in council as dismissive of Weaver's leadership skills, calling her a political amateur. who ran Flint like a "fief". It was said that Weaver failed to engage with council and her administration submitted resolutions at the last minute that denied council the opportunity to review the information and ask for additional clarification if needed.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:02 am; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:26 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Weaver had campaigned on a promise to restore trust in the government, but it was the belief of some in council that she had instead intensified the mistrust of both the administration and the council. In response Weaver told the New York Times that council engaged in racism, sexism and petty politics. Councilman Scott kincaid countered with his belief that this strife was not a product of racism, but was caused by Weaver's "inability to govern the City of Flint".

In addition, Weaver defended her use of the Flint Police to investigate the author of the recall effort against her and the recall workers. The recall had been triggered by
e-mails and an FBI investigation into Macomb County corruption and Rizzo Services.

Genesee County Clerk/Registrar of Deeds John Gleason spoke out about the Mayor's use of the police calling it "voter intimidation and harassment". He also lamented how the recall had exasperated a long festering sense in Flint that the political system was broken.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:04 am; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:46 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The original waste hauling contract with Republic was under the Emergency Manager Ed Kurtz and the evaluation was performed by his staff. The contract aimed to implement curbside recycling which ended with the buget cuts implemented by former mayor Woodrow Stanley. Governor Rick Snyder was pushing to improve Michigan's recycling stats, which were the lowest of the Great Lakes states.

Why Recycling?

America's trash problem was best illustrated after the 1987 plight of the tugboat Mobro 4000. This tugboat was loaded with 6 million pounds of rotting New York garbage and was headed to a landfill in North Carolina. When the load was refused the tug continued on a route that carried it as far as Belize Mexico only to encounter repeated rejections of the cargo. Finally, the tug was forced to return to New York City.

Michigan has an annual review of all landfills, their capacity, and their expected life span. Some areas are approaching their capacity. Snyder has made it a priority to reduce the amount of trash going to the landfill.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:05 am; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:03 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

In February of 2013, EM Kurtz privitized the trash collection under a public-private partnership or P-3. Communities on the brink of insolvency increasingly use these P-3 agreements to give residents basic services while still honoring their pension obligations. Used in Michigan for many years, these P-3 arrangements involve private equity corporations that make significant up front investments i order to manage a public service or utility in return for a long term contract to mange that service.

The Republic contract was in reality a five year contract with a fail safe written in over the final two years. The contract spanned three years with two extensions of one year each if service was satisfactory.

Republic was to establish a customer service hot line for customers and council to register their complaints and seek resolution. This was a mechanism to ensure quality services for the public. The longer term contract allowed Republic to recoup part or all of their up front costs.

The City of Taylor, Michigan had to enforce their extension clause in 2016 when their waste hauler was unable to improve services that were sub-standard.
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:21 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

A condition of the Republic contract was the implementation of curbside recycling within 90 days of the beginnig of the contract. Republic uses single stream recycling, where all recyclable materials are placed in the container to be sorted out at facility maintained by the waste hauler. In dual stream recycling, the plastics are separated from the the paper and cardboard.

The prices for recyclables are volatile and the risk of a price drop was carried by Republic as was the threat of residents contaminating the recyclables with broken glass or trash. Not all plastic is recyclable while paper and cardboard are worth more.

The purchase of assets is common in the privitization of services. Republic was to purchase up to 20 municipal garbage trucks at a cost of $75,000 each and pay all up front recycling costs.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:12 am; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:37 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Republic was also required to meet the match of a $100,000 grant within two years of contract implementation and to coordinate with the paint recycling program of the county with Habitat for Humanity. To promote recycling, Republic was to create brochures on recycling and give informational talks with groups on how to recycle. A key feature of the grant was the five year blight plan. Republic would provide a truck and driver at a nominal fee for neighborhood cleanups along with a tire pick up event They would also pay the city for the use of Chevy-in-the-hole for compost. To curb dump fees, Kurtz implemented a limit on the number of bulk material that could be picked up. However each may there was to be a city wide bulk trash pick up.

Republic held a job fair for the displaced city employees. Kurtz announced a severance package in which all 34 AFSCME employees collected their accumulated sick and annual pay in addition to $500 for each year of service up to a $10 thousand maximum per employee. Flint spent $5.7 million in the first year i legal fees, administrative costs and retiree health care.
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:57 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Director of Transportation Kay Muhammad began the process of evaluating the Republic contract compliance early and had spent a year on the project. She worked with purchasing director Derrick Jones and Waste Services Coordinator, Heather Griffin.Flint Chief Financial Officer Jody Lindquist also involved. The committee worked with citizen groups to evaluate Republic's quality of service and participation in the blight plan..
Their final recommendation was to continue service with Republic and not ask for bids.

Muhammad was on sick leave for four months, returning on May 30th, 2016. She expressed surprise at receiving a phone call at home in April that the contract was to go to bid.

Muhammad addressed RTAB over the bid process. "How can you bid out at such a late date? she asked." The process, she believed, was unfair to the city, the bidders and he public because the decision should reflect what the city hopes to achieve.
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:37 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Muhammad was distressed over the RFP package calling it a "boiler plate" bid process filled with errors. She stated their were errors in the scope of services and the document violated the purchase ordinances an charter.
There should have been evaluation under four criteria: price, overall qualification o the company, capacity to perform and responses to each service.

Rizzo left out the blight portion and how they would provide enhanced recycling program.

Rizzo was allowed to have a second interview as well as being able to amend their response. Rizzo only offered 2 roll off 40 yard containers per month valued at $12,000.. They later added 1 clam truck, a rear load packer with staff.

In the Invitation to bid the selected hauler was to allow a resident to have a city permit to dispose upto 1 ton at a landfill for free at a landfill. Rizzo sent a memo on May 5th saying no free dumps. The value of that service was estimated to be worth $1,34 million.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:53 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Both companies agreed to unlimited bulk pickup. In their response to dealing with illegal dumping on the blight elimination plan Republic offered special trucks an uniformed employees dedicated to the issue of illegal dumping and abandoned homes. By law the company was not allowed to enter private property so they requested that the public assist in bringing the debris to the curb. While the city valued the benefit t $155,000 per year, Republic said the true value was $238,000.

The attorney for Republic, Steve Sielatyshi insisted the true financial value of the bid was dependent upon the added services and that when these were added in Republic was the lowest.

Judge Farah agreed with the charter that these added services had to be added in and the city must compare apples to apples. In the final evaluation Republic was the lowest. Derrick Jones argued it was illegal to calculate the added value of intangibles although it was required in the ordinance. While Republic had an office in Genesee County, Jones refused to give them a local preference an insisted their headquarters were in Arizona. Rizzo was from Sterling Heights.
Post Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:15 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Flint Talk Forums View topic - The Council & Weaver disagreements
www.flinttalk.com › Political Talk
Topic: flint trash collection in limbo page 18

http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=12339


Mar 23, 2017 - 8 posts - ‎1 author
"Leoni argued that his bid was competitive, because he assumed the City wanted "nursery style" screened compost returned to the city . According to Leoni, the Pollard bid did not address that issue. Council was divided on he issue. Council President Scott Kincaid's arguments was that the bids were hardly ...


WHY KINCAID MISTRUSTS STANLEY #1

I remembered this story and I had to search until I found it on old files in my library While I know the story was April 23, I don't have the year. It was in the early 1990's and I believe it was 1992..

POLITICAL STINK STILL RISING OVER FLINT COMPOST CONTACT

Todd Seibt , Flint City hall reporter

Even when Flint had their own waste collection workers, there were disputes over landfills and compost. This and other stories about a Flint compost pile near Bray Road and carpenter Road were controversial to say the least.

Residents in then Councilman Johnnie Tucker's 3rd ward were vocal about the smell and wanted it gone. The Stanley administration came forward with a proposal to remove the compost using the Pollard land fill for just under $1 million. The council led by Kincaid demanded a bid process and the final bid was $34,000.



http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=12339

Pollard Landfill in Montrose Township, was then owned by City Management and Anthony Soave, who had alleged mob ties. The City management representative and company Vice president was former Flint Mayor James Sharp.

After being shot down over the nearly $1 million proposal that nearly snuck through, council was leary of Stanley's two proposals to give Pollard the $34,000 compost contact and a second contract for Pollard of $75,000 in future compost pickup.

The media did heavy coverage on the story. William Leoni Sr. of Citizen's Disposal in Mundy Township accused the Stanley administration of "using hocus pocus and a confusing array of bid alternatives " to steer the contract to Pollard.



"This thing has been convoluted", stated leoni to council, and "it's been twisted around to give i to a particular bidder".

The story eventually became a "pay to play issue". City Management and their representative contributed heavily to Stanley while the Leoni's supported Collier in the Mayor's race won by Stanley.

Sharp complained how his reputation was being sullied by all of the accusations, while Leoni reminded council they nearly paid almost $1 million for a contract now down to $34,000. The Journal had filed a FOIA and got copies of the bids. Oddly, there is mention of an inadvertent placing of the Pollard proposal on the council agenda.

"according to the language in that proposal, the proposal became null and void as soon as it became public."



Leoni asked council to toss out the bids and start over. Part of the issue revolved around vague language as to what kind of compost was to be returned to the City.

"Leoni argued that his bid was competitive, because he assumed the City wanted "nursery style" screened compost returned to the city . According to Leoni, the Pollard bid did not address that issue

Council was divided on he issue. Council President Scott Kincaid's arguments was that the bids were hardly competitive when the drive to Montrose by a 2 man city truck was 26 to 27 miles each way compared to the 6 to 8 miles to drive to Mundy Township. Kincaid requested a formal breakdown of costs to determine which was cost effective.



Seibt quoted 3rd ward councilman Johnnie Tucker supporting the contract to Pollard and saying " The FBI and the CIA shouldn't be called in to comb over every single contract Stanley proposes".

Tucker argued "we can sit around here and B.S. around this, but the bottom line is this is a service to city residents." Tucker voiced concerns over the smell and the health issues of his ward.

Note: When the Sugar Law Guild and the EPA studied "toxic sites" in Flint, Tucker claimed he did not know how the CNN Railroad got approval to maintain large piles of coal. Residents that were interviewed showed the damage from the coal dust to their, homes, cars and health. The area around Foss Avenue Church was heavily affected.
Post Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:11 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

There are strong similarities to the past as Jody Lundquist resigned with a week's notice effective May 27, 2016 and Kay Muhammad retired on July 30,2016 saying her retirement was in part because of the manner in which the bid process was handled.
Post Mon Feb 26, 2018 8:26 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Kincaid said far too many people knew of Woodrow Stanley's involvement for Weaver not to have known. In the .first quarter of 2016 Stanley met with Kincaid and requested Kincaid's support of Rizzo because the Republic contract allowed for it

One unanswered question is whether someone who was aware that the initial evaluation group had recommended the extension and had given that information to Stanley. A resolution had not yet been drafted for council.

In October of 2013 There was a similar battle between Republic and Rizzo in Rochester Hills. The Oakland Press wrote that the Rochester Hills council on September 30, 2013, had agreed to a contract extension containing a 13% drop in cost with Republic. The contract was to expire in 2014.
Post Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:13 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The Oakland Press interviewed municipal law experts;

Patrick McCauley, a municipal law attorney with the Farmington Hills firm Gasiorek,Morgan, Greco , McCalley and Kotzian, stated it "was not uncommon for communities to extend a contract through an operational provision if the service is adequate"..."The option is exercised at the discretion of the community. That's a call the elected officials have to make."

Former Troy City Attorney, Peter Letzman, agreed with McCauley and emphasized using "due diligence". Letzman added that that the bidding process could be expensive, detailed and time consuming for city staff.
Post Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:28 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Rochester Hills had used a committee that consisted of the Mayor and several council for the trash contract since 2008. The committee met for a month an employed the services of with the Ann Arbor based consultant, Resource Recycling Systems, Inc.. The committee weighed the available options and whether to grant an extension or request new proposals.

The Rochester Hills council faced strong opposition in their decision to extend the Republic contract by Joe Munem of Rizzo Services. Munem was aggressive in addressing the desire for a competitive bid. The now familiar narrative of Rizzo being able to save the city $4 million in a five yer contract extended into robo calls against the mayor and the council. Council never backed own from their decision.

Chuck Rizzo and Munem also told RTAB that not only was the Rizzo bid $2 million lower tha Republic, they were also $2 million lower than the current contract, thus they were saving the city $4 million.
Post Tue Feb 27, 2018 2:52 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The alleged watchdog nonprofit Citizens for Accountable Government has been said to be a tool for Munem and Rizzo. Robo calls and dark money show up whenever Rizzo had a problem getting a contract. Flint was no different as robo calls attacking first council and then aiming for Scott kincaid and Kate fields specifically. The group uses a post office box, has no phone, and discloses no donors and claims to only address issues.

The group has a Facebook page and there are some angry comments made there!

Duane G Zantop Sr. IMPORTANT NOTICE THE DIRTY TRICKS HAVE BEGAN
The dirty tricks in the upcoming election have already began. Expect a rash of robo calls and comments on social media slamming people who oppose the self serving individuals on the Plymouth Township Board. They will stop at nothing to support corrupt government officials to serve their own special interests. They have already tried to blackmail one of my friends and I'm sure they have tried to dig up dirt on me. Many of you remember the robo calls put out telling people to boycott EG Nicks because the recall group was holding a petition signing event at the restaurant. This is just the beginning just wait it is going to get real dirty. We are dealing with some evil individuals that will stop at nothing. Who knows I may just disappear one day.
Ron Edwards has ruled our Township with an iron hand way too long. Finally the citizens became aware and his evil deeds were exposed. When the citizens began the recall effort Edwards knew he was in trouble he reached out to individuals outside the Township. When Richard Reaume was ran out of Town Edwards he recruited to Shannon Price and made a back room deal that he would assure him the appointment and more than double Prices pay. Price promised he would bring in people from outside the Township who might make Edwards look look legitimate. The first thing Price did was to start by creating new Job positions for his fellow carpet bagging friends from outside the Township. He immediately started his political paybacks by seeing that people that donated to him were awarded contracts. The Price appointment has been nothing but a disastrous failure of public trust.
Prior to Shannon's corrupt appointment as supervisor Price and I were friends as time passed I became suspicious of some things I saw happening. On the eve of the last election I received a post card with Shannon's picture supporting Mathew Edwards. When confronted Price denied knowing anything about it. He said you " you know Ron I cannot control want he does"
A friend of mine told me he sat and talked to Price for over two hours as he proudly told him of the dirty political tricks he had pulled over the years.
Price and Edwards have recruited a group called " Citizens for Responsible Government" and they have already started smearing opposing candidates. It would seem to me the name should be changed to something other the "Citizens for Responsible Government"

Citizens for accountable government only exists at a post office box at the ups store in canton. It is registered to Debra Wyman.
We must all come together and vote for people will represent us. I am fed up with people from outside our Township controlling our government for their own special interests and money In their pockets.

World Headquarters for Citizens for Responsible Government..
Post Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:24 am 
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