Madison awards recycling-center operations contract to local employee at about $10,200 per month

The Madison City Commission awarded a two-year contract for Recycling Center operational services (Bid 965) to Eric Christiansen after staff presented multiple options including in-house operation and a switch to single-stream collection.

Jamieson told commissioners the city received only one bid in the previous month and directed staff to rebid and explore other alternatives. The rebid produced two bids: Valiant Living at $14,500 per month and Eric Christiansen at approximately $10,200 per month; staff recommended awarding the contract to Christiansen. Jamieson noted that Christiansen is a city employee and a heavy-equipment operator familiar with recycling operations.

Staff presented financial comparisons: operating the recycling service internally would be roughly break-even with estimated revenues of about $532,000 and expenses near $546,000 (a projected loss around $16,300). A move to single-stream collection would change revenues and expenses materially and could show a first-year loss in staff estimates (approximately $310,000) or a marginal profit if some one-time costs were excluded; staff called single-stream a substantial operational change with volatile market risk.

A commissioner moved to award Bid 965 to Eric Christiansen; the motion passed, with one commissioner recorded as abstaining. Staff said hours of operation would remain similar and that the contractor is familiar with the center’s operations.

Next steps: the new contractor will begin under a two-year agreement; staff will monitor operations and return to the commission if significant changes are needed.