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Committee approves three-year Waste Pro contract extension with community investment and technology review provisions
Summary
The committee approved an amended extension of the city’s waste-hauling contract with Waste Pro: three-year term (not six), reduced community partnership payment and amendments requiring council approval for allocation of those funds and an annual technology-review meeting.
The Neighborhoods Committee voted 8-0 to approve an amended extension of the city’s residential waste-hauling contract with Waste Pro, adopting multiple changes proposed by committee members.
Council Member Ron Salem moved an amendment reducing a proposed six-year contract extension to three years, lowering the community partnership investment from $150,000 to $75,000 and reducing the number of force-majeure ("act of God") claims the hauler may seek from two to one. Chief Williams of Administrative Services said the administration supported the amendment as a reasonable compromise.
Committee members also adopted an amendment to add the community-partnership investment language from the contract into the bill text so the commitment is explicit in the ordinance. Members required that designated projects for the community investment be mutually specified by the city and contractor and be subject to city council approval before appropriation.
A further amendment requires an annual meeting between the city and Waste Pro to review technological advancements in waste collection and recycling; committee language instructs that if a technology change alters service level or cost, the parties must obtain council approval for any cost change or service-level decrease. The committee debated adding language to allow negotiation of savings if technological advances reduced contractor costs; committee members added an amendment to permit negotiation to capture savings for the city if applicable.
Council Member Clark Murray moved to add explicit language referencing the contract’s community partnership requirement into the bill. Council members and staff clarified that the approval of the community-designated projects would still require council appropriation before funds are spent.
After rolling the amendments together, the committee voted 8-0 to approve the bill as amended.
The approved package shortens the extension term, lowers the agreed community contribution, and adds review and oversight measures intended to keep the contract aligned with city priorities and to provide council review of any designated community expenditures.
