TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall hear a presentation regarding an RFP (Request for Proposals) for city-wide residential curbside waste collection services. Discussion Only.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
Currently, Maricopa residents have different waste collection providers depending on the Home Owner's Association to which they belong. This model of each neighborhood contracting with their own preferred service provider has resulted in multiple providers serving the entire community. This inefficiency has also resulted in increased costs to residents and difficulty in regulating the various providers.
The City Council has made correcting this inefficiency a priority. The City Council adopted Strategic Plan states, as one of its objectives:
"Privatization via a carefully constructed contract will allow Maricopa to maintain strict oversight of solid waste management while instituting cost controls favorable to residents. It will ease the burden on HOA management and provide non-HOA residents a value proposition."
It is not the intent of this objective for the City to begin collecting solid waste--rather, it is meant to have a single solid waste collection provider within the City. Having a single provider will bring the City closer to its goals to ensure competitive pricing, ensure parity throughout the community, and to protect the public health and safety of city residents.
A supporting action included in the Strategic Plan objective is that of a bid process that will ensure the best product for the best price. A bid process will also ensure continued best pricing long-term due to the competitive nature of the process. Staff has prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) for qualified service providers to bid a comprehensive set of residential solid waste services for single family residential properties within the City--whether located in an HOA or not. The potential bidders will be asked to provide quotes on rates for weekly refuse collection service and for "on-call" bulky item collection service. City staff will consider all the proposals received and recommend a company to award a contract. The proposals will be evaluated considering the capabilities of the company, compliance with specifications, the quoted cost of service, and references provided.
It is important to note that recycling services are not listed as a mandatory component under this RFP. As the market for recyclable materials has dropped, in some cases customers pay a subsidy for recycling services. Service providers may offer recycling services as part of their bid, but they are not required to do so under this RFP as to ensure that rate payers are only paying for the services that they choose to pay for. If the bidder ultimately awarded a contract does not include recycling services in their bid, there are still other providers who offer curbside recycling collection services that the customer may utilize.
Staff expects to issue this RFP before the end of the calendar year. The City Council will approve an agreement with the awarded bidder prior to the execution of any contract between the provider and the city.
It is also anticipated that the City Council will adopt an ordinance modifying the Municipal Code in tandem with awarding a contract. An amendment to the code is recommended in order to require solid waste collections at each residence--just as water and electricity is required at each residence. An amendment to the code would also require that all construction and demolition waste is collected regularly, to ensure that any construction related impacts on neighborhood are addressed.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Mayor and City Council hear the presentation and direct any questions to staff.