Manager tells council of proposed East Providence trash contract extension

Body tables matter for further discussion, information

By Mike Rego
Posted 3/8/18

EAST PROVIDENCE — A proposed new deal between the city and its trash collection vendor was presented to the council at its meeting Tuesday night, March 6, one which manager Tim Chapman told the …

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Manager tells council of proposed East Providence trash contract extension

Body tables matter for further discussion, information

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — A proposed new deal between the city and its trash collection vendor was presented to the council at its meeting Tuesday night, March 6, one which manager Tim Chapman told the body would render a three percent savings to East Providence over the life of the agreement. No action was taken on the matter, however.

Mr. Chapman presented the council with some of the details of the contract extension with existing provider MTG Disposal-MEGA Transportation of Seekonk.

The pact would be for an additional five years. The city would pay $2.97 million for its rubbish and recycling collection for the first year, then see that number reduced to $2.138 million in the second year followed by fees of $2.181 million, $2.225 million and $2.269 million.

Mr. Chapman said the initial payment would be an increase over the current figure by $144,000, but the total would be reduced by some $700,000 over the ensuing years. As part of the contract, the city would also increase its liability insurance to $5 million up from $1 million.

Noting he had reviewed the parameters of the proposed deal with the other relevant administrators — City Finance Director Malcolm Moore, State Municipal Finance Advisor Paul Luba and Department of Public Works Director Steve Coutu — Mr. Chapman said the group coalesced around the extension “for what we think to be a beneficial contract for the city.”

Ward 3 Councilman Joe Botelho raised some concerns about the proposal during discussion on the topic. While admitting he did “not know if it’s a good deal or not,” Mr. Botelho said the current council had “nothing to compare it to in terms of what other firms are offering.”

Mr. Botelho also noted the current council was not seated when the existing contract was agreed upon in 2012 and that the matter was not opened up to bidding. He added, “I’m not criticizing the process,” but that he “cautioned” against approving what was essentially a $10 million contract without more detail.

In response, Mr. Chapman explained East Providence originally signed with MTG-Mega in a consortium with Pawtucket and Central Falls back in 2012 when the city was under the oversight of the state-appointed Budget Commission. It was an attempt to regionalize some services and reduce expenses. It also marked East Providence’s switch from weekly to bi-weekly collection of recyclables in another attempt to save on costs.

Late last year, Pawtucket extended its deal with MTG-Mega for similar terms: five years at $2.15 million in 2018, $2.2 million in 2019, $2.24 million in 2020, $2.28 million in 2021 and $2.33 million in 2022.

Last Tuesday, Mr. Coutu called the proposed extension a “very favorable contract.” He highlighted the sum of $2.181 million, which is what the city currently pays MTG-Mega and what it will pay the company in year three of the extension proposal.

“The service has been really good. Of all the Public Works issues, this is the least of my headaches,” Mr. Coutu said, continuing any issues his department has had with MTG-Mega have been “addressed right away.”

“Looking at what we pay now, next year and subsequent years, we’re actually paying less than what we pay now,” he added.

Said Mr. Chapman, “If we put this out to bid I’m not sure if we’d get this favorable result…My understanding is we’re getting very good service for a very good price.”

Mr. Botelho requested the matter be tabled until the next council meeting when the city’s purchasing agent and representative from MTG-Mega could be present to answer questions on the topic.

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