Laredo ISD staff recommend Clark Hardware for plumbing parts and Southern Sanitation for district trash services

LAREDO ISD Assistant Superintendent for Plant, Facilities and Support Services Angel Velasquez told the Board of Trustees on Nov. 3 that the committee recommends awarding the district's annual plumbing parts contract (RFP 24-035) to Clark Hardware and recommending Southern Sanitation for the district's sanitation services (RFP 25-019).

Velasquez said the plumbing contract is an annual blanket procurement to ensure parts and supplies 'valves, toilets, piping' are available for maintenance, with an estimated not-to-exceed amount of $145,000 per year. He said the sanitation services award produces district savings versus the incumbent, a difference of about $80,000 on the base bid.

Trustees asked operational questions about the sanitation contract, including pickup frequency and how locations are billed. Velasquez said the sanitation proposal is organized by account: one account for cafeteria trash (higher frequency) and one for regular trash, and that most services are on a weekly pickup schedule with frequencies and container sizes set by location. He told trustees the price is driven by container size and pickup frequency, not by tonnage hauled.

Velasquez said logistics will be required to transition containers between vendors and that, if the board approves the recommendation at the regular board meeting, Southern Sanitation would replace the current vendor.

The recommendations described at the operations meeting are procurement recommendations; formal contract awards and any change orders must be approved at a regular board meeting or through procurement processes required by district policy.

Trustees requested supporting detail for a later Business and Support Services meeting, including location-by-location container sizes and frequencies and any fiscal-year actuals compared with budgeted sanitation spending.