Belen council delays decision on residential, commercial waste contract

The Belen City Council on May 18 voted unanimously to postpone formal action on RFP 2026-01, the city’s solicitation for residential and commercial solid waste collection and disposal services, while staff begins contract negotiations.

City Manager Roseann Peralta and Finance Director Daniel Carbajal presented the evaluation committee’s recommendation to proceed to negotiations with Universal Waste System (UWS). Mayor Robert Noblin asked the council to delay a final vote so negotiations could take place next week; Councilor Frank F. Ortega moved to postpone and Councilor Rudy M. Espinoza seconded. The roll-call vote was recorded as yes from Councilors Espinoza, Ortega, Holdman and Armijo and the motion carried.

The council did not set a new date for final approval; councilors and staff said they will meet during the coming week to negotiate contract language and terms. The decision to postpone preserves the committee’s recommendation but defers any binding award until negotiations conclude.

Speakers: [{"name":"Roseann Peralta","role_title":"City Manager","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"block_id_start":"SEG 002"}},{"name":"Daniel Carbajal","role_title":"Finance Director","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"block_id_start":"SEG 002"}},{"name":"Frank F. Ortega","role_title":"Councilor","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"block_id_start":"SEG 001"}},{"name":"Rudy M. Espinoza","role_title":"Mayor Pro-Tem","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"block_id_start":"SEG 001"}},{"name":"Robert Noblin","role_title":"Mayor","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"block_id_start":"SEG 001"}}]

Provenance: {"transcript_segments":[{"block_id_start":"SEG 002","block_id_end":"SEG 002","evidence_excerpt":"Approval or Disapproval of Request for Proposal (RFP) 2026-01 Residential and Commercial Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Services evaluation committee's recommendation to proceed negotiations with UWS (Universal Waste System) for the City's Residential and Commercial Waste Contract.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id_start":"SEG 002","block_id_end":"SEG 002","evidence_excerpt":"Mayor Robert Noblin asked for a motion to postpone this action to a later date as they will be meeting to negotiate next week to discuss the contract. Councilor Frank F. Ortega made a motion. ... Motion Carried","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}