Point Borough Council Candidates Talk Trash

Point Borough Republican Council candidates say the Democratic majority on council should have moved faster to get bids from private trash haulers since the current contract expires Dec. 31.

Democratic candidates counter that, yes, earlier would have been better, but there is still time to get a viable plan in place and they will.

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"We know we will save at least $1.6 million with Brick, the contractor bids might save us more," said Democratic Councilman Chris Leitner, who is running with newcomer Brian Welch.

The Democrats are challenged by Republican newcomers Lynn Faugno and John R. Wisniewski.

The decision on choosing a trash hauler will have to be made by the present mayor and council and not by any of the three newcomers who may take office in January.

However, monitoring and evaluating the work performed by whatever entity is hired to do the job will be a crucial task for council next year to determine whether that contract is ultimately renewed or if the borough chooses to go out to bid again.

Technically, there is a still a possibility that the borough will have its own public works crews handle collection.

However, Mayor William Schroeder has said that a recent cost analysis shows it will not save as much money as he had originally hoped, so that possibility seems to be a distant third.

Wisniewski said, "We were only told that in-house isn't feasible, but we haven't seen the numbers that have accumulated so far."

Among the incumbent members of the local governing body, Democrats have been leaning toward hiring Brick, while Republicans have been leaning toward hiring a private hauler, like the borough has now.

However, incumbents in both parties have also said they will ultimately vote for the entity that can do the job responsibly for the lowest price. In fact, municipalities are required by law to pick "the lowest, responsible bid."

Wisniewski said, "I'm not even a proponent of picking the cheapest hauler. Sometimes the cheapest is the most expensive." He said he means that if the borough chooses the cheapest option and then discovers later that they are not providing adequate service, it may cost more in the long run.

Borough Adminstrator David Maffei has said all requirements for service are spelled out in the bid specifications as they would be in any contract with Brick or any private hauler.

Republican candidates said the whole process should have started sooner and been further along by now.

"We've been talking about this since April," Faugno said. "I think the data should have been gathered before this."

Leitner said, "In a perfect world, the bids would have gone out earlier. It took a lot of coordinating between public works, Dave Maffei and the CFO (chief financial officer Michelle Swisher) to get the bids out. We've released every piece of information we've received as we've received it."

All four council members at the Nov. 1 meeting voted for preliminary approval of a five-year bond ordinance to appropriate $883,000 to possibly buy robo-cans, "including the sum of $43,000 as the down payment required by the local bond law," according to a copy of the ordinance. The ordinance also calls for bonds to be issued in the amount of $840,000, to finance the bulk of the $883,000.

The funds authorized by the bond ordinance would be used to purchase "95-gallon robo-cans, 65-gallon robo-cans and dumpsters," according to the ordinance.

However, municipal officials are still working on the proposal to see if they need two different sized cans. The original idea was that the larger cans would be for trash and the smaller ones for recycling.

A public hearing and adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for Nov. 15.

At the same meeting, Public Works Director Robert Forsyth is scheduled to give a presentation on facts and figures of the three possible options, with the information available so far.

That information will not include the bids from private haulers, since the borough is accepting bids until Nov. 22.

Robo-cans are picked up by automated arms of garbage trucks retrofitted to be compatible with the robo-cans.

The private contractor the borough now uses rear-compacted trucks. Suburban Disposal, Inc., of Fairfield, collects the borough's trash for about $730,000 per year, according to the terms of a contract that expires on Dec. 31, municipal officials have said.

Elizabeth-based Meadowbrook Industries, LLC, handles the borough's recycling pickup for about $230,000 per year, municipal officials have said.

Leitner said all private bids that are returned to the borough will be evaluated to see if they meet all bid specifications at cost savings beyond what Brick is offering.

"I don't care who picks up the garbage as long as it's a good plan for the lowest price," Leitner said.

Faugno questioned whether the borough can get a better price on robo-cans by buying them along with one or more municipalities.

"You always get a better price by buying in bulk," she said.

The vote at the Nov. 1 council meeting was only to put a funding mechanism in place, in the form of borrowing money through a bond ordinance, so that if the borough needs robo-cans for pickup by Brick or by a private hauler, they will be able to borrow the money and make the purchase by the end of the year when the current contract expires.

Even if the council ultimately votes to borrow the money, it must still go out to bid to purchase the cans.

Faugno said, "I don't understand why we're getting into this marriage with Brick for one year."

Faugno and Wisniewski said they are concerned that after that year, Brick will raise its price.

"If we buy robo-cans for Brick, and then Brick raises its price after we've made that investment, what happens after one year?" Faugno asked. "I feel like there has not been enough information shared."

When asked if the borough would have an opportunity to entertain other options if Brick increased its price, Faugno acknowledged that it would.

Leitner said that that if the borough hires Brick, it will have the same rights as it would with a private hauler, meaning that if Brick does not live up to the terms of its contract, the borough can sue. If Brick employees call out sick, they have to hire other workers to get the job done or be in breach of contract, he said.

"For years, Brick has wanted to be a regional provider," Leitner said. "So I think they are going to want to show they are really doing well with Point Pleasant. I think we would have great service."

Brick has committed to have trucks only for Point Pleasant, he said.

"There's no difference between having Brick and having a private hauler, except we save $1.6 million and we get shared services credit from the state which makes us eligible for more state aid," he said.

Leitner said the bid specifications sent out to private haulers call for once a week summer collection, rather than the twice weekly collection done now, with the hope that will draw lower bids than what the borough pays now.

Faugno said that idea may, well, smell.

"If you've walked through New York City in the summer, you know how garbage can smell," Faugno said. "Making it sit for a week can smell disgusting. If you do spring cleaning in your basement, or if you go fishing, and then you have to wait a week, that could smell.

"It would have to be a substantial savings, and I mean substantial, for me to want it reduced to weekly pick-up during the summer," she said. "Even twice a week sometimes can get smelly."

Welch said he supports once a week summer collection to save money.

He also said he supports the ongoing efforts to examine all options and then, ultimately, choose the one that offers the lowest, responsible bid, whether that is Brick or a private contractor.

Welch, the father of two young girls, including one still in diapers, said he thinks his family can manage fine with one large robo-can during the summer, and many voters have told him they are fine with once a week pick-up all summer if it saves money.

He said the robo-cans are about twice the size of cans most local residents now use.

"A lot of people have been asking us what's going on with the garbage," said Welch, adding that has been a more popular question even than taxes.

The tentative proposal is for the town to provide one large robo-can to each household, with residents having the option to buy a second for about $60 or $70, depending on the bids that are ultimately awarded, Leitner said.

The proposals considered so far call for weekly recycling, rather than on alternate weeks.

Wisniewski said his family, including him, his wife, two children and a dog, could probably manage with weekly summer collection.

"But I'd rather have it twice a week," he said. "I'd like to look at the cost differential. Is it worth the cost savings? For some people, it might be a hardship."

Regarding the robo-cans, Wisniewski said he wonders if his opponents are correct when they say they are "the way of the future."

"These are very large cans," he said. "At my house, we can't park in the driveway when we need to get these cans out."

He said he also wants to see how much it will cost for borough public works to handle bulk collection since that would not be included in a Brick contract.

"If it's $50 per house, that's ok, but $500 would be kind of steep," he said.

Wisniewski, senior vice president of finance for River Road Waste Solutions, Red Bank, said there have been a few residents who have asked about his company in light of the borough's ongoing search for a trash hauler.

"We don't pick up trash for municipalities," he said. He said River Road is a liaison between retailers and trash haulers, finding the best trash collection deal for retailers.

Approximately 8,100 cans would be purchased, since that is the number of households and businesses that the borough's private contractors are picking up now, officials said.

Even if the ordinance is adopted at the next meeting, the mayor and council still has to decide if it's going to use Brick, private haulers or its own public works department to pick up trash and recycling. Then they have to decide if it's necessary to buy the robo-cans for whichever option they choose.

He said the bid specifications will be written with specific requirements for the size cans the borough determines it needs, the number and type of cans and other requirements.

If a new plan for trash collection is not in place by the end of this year, it may be necessary to contract with Suburban for a 30-day extension of the contract.

A 30-day extension would cost no more than the current amount the borough pays, which would be an average of roughly $60,833 per month, McHugh said in a recent interview.