Council considers five-year solid-waste contract; purchasing agent recommends lowest bidder at $624,804

The Frenchtown Borough Council discussed awarding a five-year contract for curbside solid-waste and recycling collection and heard a detailed bid review and logistics briefing from town staff and a prospective contractor.

The borough purchasing agent told the council the lowest bidder met the qualifications and bid $624,804 for a five-year contract, and recommended a five-year term to provide budget stability. "They meet all the qualifications as submitted and required by the public public contracts law," the purchasing agent said, and added that the lowest bidder was substantially less than the others in price.

The contractor representative described two cart sizes the bid calls for and brought sample units to the meeting. "These are 90 fives. This is a 65," the representative said, describing the larger and smaller cart options and noting some residents in denser housing had trouble storing the larger carts. Council members asked whether smaller units could be provided for seniors or residents with mobility limits and whether the borough Department of Public Works could swap units when necessary; the representative said swap-outs and serialized tracking would be used to manage inventory.

Council and staff also discussed transition logistics if the borough awards the contract. Staff cautioned that the current hauler's contract ends in mid-February and that there will be a transition period in which not all carts may be available immediately. The contractor said it could stage deliveries and estimated three days to deliver all carts if staging space in the DPW yard were available. The contractor also reported a short-term inventory gap, noting they were "about 25 cards short" of the larger units in their working inventory.

The purchasing agent and staff clarified which fees are included in the award and which might be billed separately. The purchasing agent said the bid includes tipping fees for the 20 town container locations and regular residential pickup, and that roll-off containers and certain DPW-hosted services may be billed separately. Staff emphasized that the bid specification requires a dedicated truck for Frenchtown service to prevent co-mingling of other municipalities' waste and to ensure disposal billing reflects only borough tonnage.

Council members raised longer-term market risks, including the fluctuation of tipping fees and the pending sale of a local transfer station that is under state review. The contractor characterized disposal as a sizable portion of operating cost and said tipping fees have risen steadily in recent years.

The clerk introduced Resolution 2025-34 to formally award the contract and the council moved and seconded consideration of the measure; the transcript records the item being advanced and discussed at the meeting.