Coeur d'Alene Garbage gets the bid

COEUR d'ALENE — After plenty of input and intense conversation, the Coeur d'Alene City Council approved a 10-year, $196,026 per month solid waste and single stream recycling collection contract with Coeur d'Alene Garbage Service.

The vote Tuesday night was 5-1. Ron Edinger cast the lone "no" vote, with little explanation.

The topic became a showdown once Waste Management, which has had the present solid waste contract with Kootenai County serving Coeur d'Alene for 16 years, came forward with a request for council to scrap the request for proposals and start over. The company claimed the process was flawed, ambiguous and rushed.

According to Randy Adams, the city's chief civil deputy attorney, despite all the questions that had been raised regarding the RFP process, it didn't warrant a do-over.

"In summary, it is the opinion of the city attorney’s office that the RFP process complied with state law. We believe it was also thorough; the RFP itself was 28 pages in length, prices were obtained from bidders on 141 separate line items. The apparent low bid was determined based on 29 separate line items."

The RFP was published Feb. 25 and the bids were due March 24. Adams said objections needed to be submitted in writing and received by the city at least three days prior to the bids being opened. No formal objections were received in that time.

The Coeur d'Alene Public Library Community Room was packed as time was permitted for public comment. Several people spoke on behalf of Coeur d'Alene Garbage as well as Waste Management. Several Waste Management employees attended in their safety yellow work vests or logoed business shirts. In attendance was former Coeur d'Alene mayor Sandi Bloem, who is now of counsel for Gallatin Public Affairs, which has Waste Management as a client. When asked Monday about her affiliation with Waste Management, she said she couldn't really speak on the subject and would prefer to refer questions to "the client."

A big point of contention regarding this contract is the issue of glass recycling. Coeur d'Alene Garbage and the second-highest bidder, Sunshine Disposal and Recycling, proposed to implement a community "drop-box" system that will place glass collection stations throughout the city. Waste Management proposed a curbside glass collection program.

"I am deeply aware of what the residents of Coeur d’Alene and city council wanted from this selection process, the continuation of an outstanding recycling and trash program with the initiative of curbside glass recycling," said Waste Management district manager Steve Roberge. "Waste Management was the only company that offered curbside glass collection, and our single stream recycling proposal with curbside glass was the least costly option of all proposals."

Phil Damiano, Coeur d'Alene Garbage president, said his goal in speaking Tuesday was to make council comfortable with the contract it would be voting on.

"It is, in fact, the best deal by far for the city of Coeur d'Alene," he said. "I hope I also get a point or two for being the only guy that didn’t bring his attorney up to the podium."

He said "process, performance and price" are important in this case.

"My two other proponents have complained that the process and the contract are flawed and have asked for a do-over," he said. "This only makes sense if you did not submit the lowest bid. However, these complaints were voiced after the bids were received, and opened, and Coeur d’Alene Garbage was by far the low bid. These complaints have no merit whatsoever.”

He pointed out the city’s legal department’s stance that this process "was not flawed and that there was no timely objections to the process."

"It was only after the bids were received, opened, tallied, that both of the other proponents now have all of these issues with the process," he said. "Sounds like sore losers to me."

Councilwoman Amy Evans and Councilwoman Kiki Miller both expressed their discomfort with the process and the contract language, especially regarding glass recycling as an "add alternate" item.

"I think there’s some things that procedurally could have been done differently but I don’t argue with the fact that there is an apparent low bidder and they followed the directions and all of the bidders had the same directions," Miller said. "It should be awarded, but I have some real issues with the language in the contract."

"This was a learning experience for sure," Evans said. "I’m uncomfortable with the glass recycling still as it states. I would feel more comfortable if it was defined further. Questions have been asked and we’ve asked about it extensively tonight and it is what it is right now at this point."

Adams confirmed that the new contract provides that terms can be modified or the contract can be terminated altogether.

"The city has not 100 percent say, you can’t dictate the terms of the contract but they can be renegotiated if something comes up,” Adams said, adding the contract discusses that new technologies and economies should be contemplated as they arise.

Waste Management's solid waste contract expires June 30.