Jacksonville Beach council awards sludge-hauling contract, delegates renewal authority to city manager

The Jacksonville Beach City Council on May 20 approved a multi-part contract award to secure sludge-hauling services for the city's wastewater treatment plant.

City public-works director Dennis Barron told the council the contract covers the hauling of sludge — the residual byproduct of wastewater processing — and recommends a three-year contract with a single two‑year extension, with CPI adjustments built into rates. The contract framework would leave at least one vendor truck on site to collect sludge as it accumulates and haul it to a landfill outside the city.

Councilor Janssen moved to award bid number 2425-05 to Revenue Incorporated for sludge hauling; the motion passed unanimously on roll call. The council then authorized the mayor and city manager to negotiate and execute the contract resulting from the award; that authorization also passed unanimously.

The council then voted on delegating authority to the city manager to approve and execute all subsequent contract renewals through the maximum contract term (the recommended one two‑year extension). That delegation passed but drew three ‘‘no’’ votes: Council members Sutton, Wouters and Horn voted no; the remaining members and the mayor voted yes.

Councilors asked clarifying questions: Barron confirmed trucks are staged to limit staff travel time, that filling a truck takes several days, and that CPI adjustments apply to the rates. No substantive amendment was made to the contract terms during the meeting.

The council recorded no dollar amounts in the meeting minutes during the discussion; the administration described the award, term structure and CPI adjustment but did not provide the actual bid pricing on the public record at that time.