A month into a predicted heavy hurricane season, the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority has approved a new contract to dispose of the kind of tree waste that Hurricane Sandy produced by many tons.
In a special meeting Monday, PMUA commissioners approved a one-year contract with S. Rotondi & Sons to dispose of brush and "heavy wood," including tree stumps, for a flat rate not to exceed $350,000. The contract does not include grass, leaves or wood chips, which PMUA Executive Director Dan Williamson said will be disposed of by other means.
Last year, the authority was paying a flat $2,408.33 per month to Britton Industries for final disposal of all vegetative waste when the Oct. 29 storm left behind extreme tonnage of fallen trees and plant debris, leading to a shutdown of the overwhelmed facility and emergency interim contracts while a new disposal contract was sought. See Plaintalker's post here.
The Rotondi contract is 11 times more per month than the old rate and does not include all types of vegetative waste. Rotondi was one of four bidders, including Britton, and agreed to reduce its original bid of $570,979 to $350,000. Bidders could submit contracts for 1-, 2-, or 5-year terms and various categories of vegetative waste. Rotondi was deemed the lowest responsible bidder. In May, the authority had rejected all three previous bids in favor of breaking the vegetative waste into specific categories.
--Bernice
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The reduced bid from Rotondi was for a reduced package of services, not for a break on the total cost. This is similar in some respects to the trap the school district found itself in as noted in the state comptroller's report. It's when the terms of a contract don't match the RFP or RFQ, leaving room for creativity that usually winds up costing more in the long run.
ReplyDeleteConsider; The payment for the removal of the vegetative waste has escalated from $2,400/month to $30,000/month and is not all inclusive. Yes, Ole Doc. this is OZ.
ReplyDeleteI am confident that the Rotondi organization has a greater knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the trucking industry than the 5 PMUA Commissioners combined. I can also assure from having been in and associated with heavy hauling for 50 years that Rotondi does not employ a legion of Real Estate Consultants, Accounting Consultants, Auditors, Attorneys, Engineers or a Board of Directors ( comparable to a Board of Commissioners ) to whom he pays salaries and benefits. Nor does Rorondi have a Cecil B. DeMille cast of thousands administering his operations.
If Rotondi accepted a Lump Sum contract Rotondi has every confidence that he will make a profit. An examination of the original bid documents and the final contract will reveal why Rotondi was able to accept a $220,000 reduction. The reasonable assumption is that the scope of work was reduced, or that there are limitations on the volume of waste to be removed for the stipulated payment. If the revised scheme is viable then the original Bid Documents should have contained the revised provisions and giving other companies who expended the money to produce a responsive bid the same opportunity to submit quotations for the revised scope of work. Were they?
That those Commissioner who are still receiving the illegal benefit package do not voluntarily abandon them while the rank and file are being furloughed is obscene. It will be interesting to see whom are next Mayor nominates to fill the Commissioner vacancies, and replace those who are "Holdovers" and should be replaced.
The names placed in nomination will be an early barometer of the character of the next Administration. Bill Kruse
The entire article and all the comments are erroneous. It is not a flat fee of $350,000. Read the resolution before jumping to idiotic conclusions and comments. I am surprised that Bernice missed this one totally. The contract is NOT TO EXCEED $350,000.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you feel so aggrieved Mr. or Ms. Anonymous. It remains to be seen if the additional services not covered under the Rotondi contract can be had for less than the $220,000 difference, or if Mother Nature lays another fast one on us and the Authority finds its costs will exceed the Not To Exceed amount. But consider this- PMUA has a documented history of ignoring laws and contractual agreements. Its own financial statements contain material falsehoods. Are we to think "Not to Exceed" carries much weight in the scheme of things?
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