Trash bids canned; SWDI deal likely

Lafourche Parish’s solid waste contract has been up for debate for months, but this December the council is set to decide whether to approve a new deal with Houma’s Solid Waste Disposal Inc. (SWDI) or seek other alternatives.

The parish began reviewing its contract with SWDI in April by forming a Solid Waste Committee, made up of councilmen Phillip Gouaux, Lindel Toups, Michael Delatte and Louis Richard.

SWDIs current rate is $558,712 per month, Gouaux said.

The committee was charged with negotiating a cost-effective solid waste contract for the parish.

During that time, the committee accepted proposals from three other solid waste companies – SDT Waste and Debris Services in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish-based IESI LA Corporation and Waste Pro USA in Florida.

Waste Pro came in with the lowest rate at $522,060 per month. Conversely, SWDI had the highest proposal at $615,612, which is $56,900 more than its current contract.

However, after review, all the proposals were thrown out due to technicalities, and SWDIs contract was extended through April 1, 2010.

According to Gouaux, the proposal errors included failing to attach the request for proposal information, to secure appropriate signatures and to meet the initial requirements of being in business for five or more years.

“We sought an opinion from the state Attorney General’s Office,” he said. “The response was that we had every right to reject those proposals if they failed to have the information we required.”

After the committee voted to decline all four proposals, SWDI approached Randolph on Nov. 12 with a new 5-year deal that would decrease the proposed contract of $615,612 by $123,200 a month.

“That’s perfectly legal for the current carrier to come back and negotiate a proposal to keep the contract,” Randolph said. “However, that decision is not up to me, it’s up to the parish council.”

The new deal is still higher than Waste Pro’s rate. Peggy Bailey, a concerned citizen, said the parish government will waste taxpayers’ money by approving the contract renewal with SWDI.

“Are our councilmen looking after our best interest?” she asked. “With the two proposed ordinances, I think not. All of the proposals were rejected. Then, SWDI presents a proposal to Mrs. Randolph and its still not lower than the lowest rejected proposals.

“The council are not looking after our interest as taxpayers in these tough economic times, especially if they renew that contract. It may not be against the law, but it’s not right,” she added.

Ralph Mills, Waste Pro’s regional vice president, said Lafourche had every right to reject the proposals. However, he had hoped the parish council would have overlooked the irregularities for the lower price.

“I am disappointed that they did not go with the lowest price,” Mills said. “The irregularities could have been waived because they were just proposals.

“I just hope we get an opportunity to submit a bid,” he added. “In the end, we just want to save the parish taxpayers money.”

The council will vote on renewing SWDI’s 5-year contract at its Dec. 8 meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Mathews Government Complex at 5 p.m.