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Lower Pottsgrove rejects Whitetail bid, awards 2026–30 trash contract to JP Mascaro; commissioners raise budget concerns
Summary
After the solicitor found Whitetail’s bid non-responsive for missing required compliance documentation, the Board rejected Whitetail 5-0 and approved a 4-1 award to JP Mascaro; commissioners warned of an estimated 30% first-year cost increase that could push solid-waste to over 16% of the 2026 budget.
The Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners voted on Sept. 18 to reject Whitetail Disposal’s bid for the 2026–30 municipal trash contract and to award the contract to JP Mascaro.
Solicitor Jamie Ottaviano told the Board his review found material omissions in Whitetail’s bid: missing pages from EPA ECHO and Pennsylvania DEP EFACTS compliance-history reports for several landfills the company said it would use, and incomplete capacity/insurance letters required by the solicitation. Ottaviano recommended that the Board declare Whitetail’s bid non-responsive; Commissioners voted unanimously to reject the bid (5-0).
Commissioner William Keohane moved to award the contract to JP Mascaro; the motion passed 4-1 after Commissioner Michael McGroarty opposed the award on budgetary grounds. McGroarty said that with the remaining bid the Township faced an estimated thirty percent (30%) increase in waste-disposal costs in year one that would raise solid-waste from about 12% of the 2025 budget to over 16% of the projected 2026 budget. He said he could not support the award for that reason. Pat Mascaro, president of JP Mascaro, said his company had submitted the lowest responsive, responsible bid and that Mascaro owns its own landfill and recycling facility. Paul Brady of Whitetail Disposal criticized parts of the RFP language and said the solicitation limited bidders in his view; Mascaro said Whitetail should have sought clarifications at the pre-bid meeting.
The Board also took several additional routine actions during the meeting. Motions approved unanimously (5-0) included:
• Approval of Change Order #2 for the Snell Road Bridge project in the amount of $16,599.48; the engineer McCarthy Engineering acknowledged a miscommunication with the builder and obtained a discount. • A conditional offer of employment to Tyler Kaufman for a Highway Laborer position. • The 2026 Minimum Municipal Obligations (MMO) for pensions: Police MMO $670,131; Non-Uniform Pension Plan MMO $225,901; Non-Uniform Defined Contribution MMO $29,161. • Approval of Warrant #960 for August 2025 and acceptance of the Treasurer's Report for August 2025.
Votes noted in the meeting record: rejection of Whitetail (5-0); award to JP Mascaro (4-1); all other listed motions passed unanimously (5-0). The Board closed public comments on the trash contract after remarks from both bidders. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.; the next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2025.
