Carson City seeks new solid waste franchise agreement

The Carson City Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to approve a request for proposals in the formation of a new franchise agreement for solid waste and recyclable materials disposal.

The existing franchise agreement between the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City and Waste Management expires June 30, 2019. A new agreement must be in place by December 2018 in order for services to continue July 1, 2019.

Rick Cooley, Construction Manager with the Carson City Public Works Department, said the Board of Supervisors seeks a competitive process for the new agreement.

"The purpose of this direction was to allow all interested parties the opportunity to compete for this franchise and also have the competitive nature of bidding to keep costs down," he said. "The city is not trying to replace Waste Management, (but) is looking for the contractor that will provide the city the best service for the best price."

Waste Management could still end up as the board's recommendation, Cooley said, but the company must submit a proposal along with any other potential vendor for consideration in the competitive process to form a new agreement.

Current and potential Carson City residential and commercial customers provided feedback via questionnaires and a series of five public meetings held in February and March of this year to obtain public input on disposal services. A total of 475 questionnaires were received in addition to email and phone message comments.

Carson City Department of Public Works submitted a request for proposal and draft agreement to the Board of Supervisors Thursday for approval.

The board asked for clarification on some items, such as the consumer price index (CPI) to adjust for inflation on the proposed eight percent franchise fee that includes three percent allocated to roadway maintenance and repair.

Supervisors also questioned whether exemptions to mandatory service should be granted with landfill receipts going back the previous six calendar months.

Under the proposed draft agreement, an exemption to mandatory residential services would be available to single-family customers who can provide landfill receipts from the previous 12 calendar months.

The draft agreement features a 15-year term with one two-year extension. Mandatory residential services include weekly curbside solid waste collection, bi-weekly recycling collection, a green solution proposed by the hauler, and bulky item collection of up to four items annually per household.

The request for proposals is due to be released June 26 with a proposal deadline of Aug. 7 by 4 p.m. In between is an RSVP deadline of 4 p.m. July 2 for a mandatory pre-proposal meeting held on July 10.

Service providers have until 4 p.m. July 13 to submit written questions to the city.

Proposals will be evaluated on the following weighted criteria:

— 35 percent on collection service approach and programs

— 35 percent on reasonable and competitive cost

— 15 percent on collection experience, qualifications, record and customer satisfaction

— 15 percent on implementation plans and capabilities, including employee retention, transition, company capacity, service proposal and plan, as well as billing system.

The city has until Nov. 16 to finalize negotiations with a contractor, and a final agreement is due before the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 6. Services under the new franchise agreement would start July 1, 2019.

For more information on the draft agreement and request for proposal, see the agenda item link here on the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City web site.