Service ended with Hurricane Katrina
After some companies protested the dashing of their plans to resurrect Jefferson Parish's curbside garbage recycling program, the Parish Council is poised to toss out all proposals and start over.
Hurricane Katrina ended curbside garbage recycling in Jefferson Parish, and the latest attempt to restore the service has run into problems."There was some confusion about how it was handled," council Chairman Chris Roberts said Monday.
The reboot would be the latest snag to catch Jefferson recycling efforts, left moribund by Hurricane Katrina's devastation more than five years ago.
Six companies offered proposals in March, but Parish President John Young's administration dismissed four out of hand for not complying with new, stricter disclosure regulations. As a result, offers from the Organic Energy Corp., Richard's Disposal Inc., Waste Pro USA and Waste Management Inc. were never reviewed by the administration's evaluation committee.
The council was left to choose between IESI Corp. and Allied Waste.
The confusion sprang from the latest push to evoke more transparency in bidding for public work. Proposing companies must submit affidavits regarding state ethics requirements and about their campaign finance contributions to local politicians in order to be considered for the work.
Some of the companies protested, Robert said, and now Councilman Byron Lee plans to offer to cancel the proposal request and re-solicit all comers. Lee didn't return a message left Monday seeking comment.
"I'm just glad we get the opportunity to be able to tell our story," said Barney Gorey, president of Organic Energy's Louisiana division.
Spokespersons for Waste Management, Allied Waste and IESI didn't return calls Monday. A spokesman for Richard's Disposal wouldn't comment.
Waste Pro was surprised at the council's plan to start over, said regional Vice President Wally Carter. After company officials met with a parish attorney and acting Purchasing Director Brenda Campos, Carter said, the administration apologized and accepted Waste Pro's proposal. The company's affidavits were in proper order, he said.
"We were kind of puzzled," he said.
Carter said Campos even called him later to say the administration planned to recommend Waste Pro to the council.
If three companies had properly complied, then the council should choose from them, Carter said, adding that tossing out all offers amounts to a "mockery" of the competitive process.
"I just don't think that's fair to do it that way," Carter said.
A spokesperson for Young's administration didn't return messages left Monday seeking comment.
The council's decision could cause a rare split vote on the seven-member panel.
Councilman Elton Lagasse said he had no problems with restarting the proposal process considering the way the affidavits for Waste Pro came to light.
"We've all got some concerns about how or why this material was found," he said.
But Councilman Louis Congemi agreed in part with Carter's assessment.
"If it was all done as it was supposed to be, then I'm not going to vote to cancel it," he said, adding that he was still reviewing the process.
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Richard Rainey can be reached at rrainey@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7052.