Is it Just Me - Trail Ridge Landfill Contract...

[Mandarin]

Is it just me, or does anyone else cringe when Mayor Peyton says he wants to give a lucrative no-bid contract to a friend and political ally, but not to worry because he's checked it out and it's the best deal city taxpayers can get?

Has it been that long since his mea culpae for giving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to close friend Scott Teagle through a no-bid contract, despite Teagle being an unqualified contractor? Or since his apology for the $112,000 no-bid city contract he gave to former campaign aide Sheila Greene for her efficiency consulting? With the grand jury investigation of these debacles still fresh in our minds, along with the millions in taxpayer money lost on the Shipyards and Courthouse projects, is it any wonder we have trouble taking Peyton at his word when he says that the proposed $750 million no-bid contract with Waste Management is the best deal taxpayers can get?

One reason it's hard to trust this deal is that it is contingent upon a lack of transparency. Peyton's proposal ensures that the city would lack the right to review Waste Management's financial statements and related profits during the term of the agreement. That seems in direct conflict with the pledge the mayor made last month, following the latest grand jury investigation, when he said the city would ensure firms awarded big city contracts were financially solvent.

Waste Management has put a tempting deal on the table, but lobbyist Paul Harden says if the company is forced to compete with other bidders, then its offer is retracted and it will sue the city until the cows come home. If Waste Management's deal is so good, then why is the company afraid to have the process opened to competitive bidding?

Anyone who has watched this administration operate for the last five years understands the answer to that question. Waste Management's offer may be the best we taxpayers can get, but Peyton has thoroughly squandered his right to ask us to trust him on these types of issues.

Taxpayers in Duval County must take a stand against this proposal and call upon our elected officials on the City Council to vote down the proposed no-bid contract. Call or e-mail your Council representative today.

[BridgeTroll]

It is not just you Mandarin... Welcome by the way!

[brainstormer]

Mandarin, you aren't the only one!  I agree with everything you have said.  I also have a serious issue with the fact that the contract is worth 35 years!!!  That is a very long time.  So much will change in this city by the time the contract is up.  It does nothing to promote environmentally creative solutions to waste and does nothing to promote decreasing our amount of waste, recycling, reusing, etc.  It is not fiscally responsible to enter a contract like this.  My council rep. already knows how I feel, and I encourage everyone to keep sending/calling.

[Mandarin]

Voice Your Opinion on This Issue at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BidTheLandfill/index.html

[jbm32206]

Peyton's attempt to ram this no-bid contract is outrageous and needs to be stopped. I've already expressed my opposition and concerns with each city council member...everyone should do the same.

[JaxByDefault]

Much about this deal simply does not add up.

If they are afraid of being tied up in litigation over the original contract then its likely the city made some embarrassingly bad deal in the previous contracts that they would now have to cover and do not want public scrutiny on. Speculative possibilities abound: the city gave away land or management rights of some sort, had WM carry the costs of equipment or upgrades that they would now have to pay back, WM relied on some backroom promise for a contract extension/new contract, city legal missed punitive contract terms, or any number of other issues.

The council wants it to go to bid. The Mayors office refuses because they insist that this is the best deal out there and they are saving us millions. If the Mayor's office wants people to see the savings, then they'll need to own up to potential past mistakes the city has made in negotiating waste disposal. They'll have to go over the top with transparancy, as well. If it saves us money, show us how and win the day.

Otherwise, it leads the public to infer that this is yet another example of this administration's love affair with bid/procurement irregularities.

[jbm32206]

and the love affair with Paul Harden....

this deal sucks on all levels...give me a break....35 years, as if technology isn't looking into ways to recycle waste into other uses....nobody and that means nobody should have a 35 year contract!

[jbm32206]

There's no technology in this contract....didn't mean to give that impression if that's where you got that from. Technology in general is moving towards converting up to 90 percent of municipal waste into ethanol. If we allow this contract to go through for 35 years, landfills would and should be obsolete long before that.

As for Paul Harden, he's behind this as the attorney for Waste Management...and is a close buddy with Peyton, as well as Jake Godbold....this deal sucks, and Peyton wants to side step city procedures that dictate bids for such contracts. There's already at least one other company interested in bidding...so if this is such a wonderful deal, why not let it go up for bid, and let the best proposal win

[jbm32206]

Short-sighted....that the least of it...but yes, it is.

[JaxByDefault]

Waste technology 35 years ago didn't include widespread recycling, landfill gas conversion, closed disposal sites, or strong environmental oversight. Much has changed since the days of the "fill up the old quarry with trash" school of waste management and I'm willing to bet that technology will not be stagnant for the next 35 years. This will have to be one heck of well drafted contract to account for substantial industry and policy advancements.

[Charles Hunter]

A "well drafted contract" from our city legal staff?  Uh.  Right.  

[thelakelander]

City Council won't be steamrolled on landfill

By Ron Littlepage

Mayor John Peyton has taken his garbage show on the road.

He has been lobbying City Council members in individual meetings and speaking to just about everyone who will listen.

His pitch: City Hall should circumvent its own rules and award a 35-year, $750-million no-bid contract to Waste Management to operate the city's Trail Ridge Landfill.

Even though he's taking potshots at opponents of the deal during his traveling shtick, Peyton insists he wants the debate to stick to the facts.

Here's a fact:

There are valid reasons the state and the city have rules about bidding contracts.

One is that the bid process, while not perfect, helps ensure that taxpayers get the best deal possible. That's especially important with a contract as large as this one.

Another reason is the bid process provides transparency, helping to eliminate the suspicion that back room deals are being made with favored friends and political supporters.

Here's another fact:

Peyton has been saying the deal his team negotiated with Waste Management behind closed doors will save taxpayers $200 million over the 35-year life of the contract.

The fact is others with expertise in the landfill business say that number is inflated.

They also say that opening the contract to other bidders could save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Here's another fact:

During his road show, Peyton has been saying I don't know what I'm talking about when I've written in columns that the contract should be open to other bidders.

I have met with Peyton's team on more than one occasion and heard their arguments.

I've also met more than once with representatives of Republic, another landfill company that wants to bid on the contract, and listened to that side.

It's a fact that Peyton has yet to have a face-to-face with Republic.

Just like it's a fact the Chamber of Commerce backed Peyton's position on the landfill contract after only hearing from Peyton and without the benefit of hearing what opponents have to say.

Here's another fact:

The Mayor's Office tried to ram this deal through the City Council last September as part of the council's adoption of this year's budget, but Council President Ronnie Fussell said no. Fussell still isn't going to be steam rolled.

In the weeks ahead, instead of going through the normal committee process, he will set up special meetings of the whole council to hear from all sides, including a report from the City Council auditor.

That's the way it should be done and that's when the real facts will come out.

And the fact is this contract, at the very least, should be bid. If Waste Management has the best deal, great. If not, taxpayers will save money

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/columnists/ron_littlepage/2009-02-15/story/city_council_wont_be_steamrolled_on_landfill

[BridgeTroll]

Found this on urbanjacksonville... http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/


http://www.youtube.com/v/c08j6QAwTk4

[BridgeTroll]

But wait... there is more...

http://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/columnists/ron_littlepage/2009-02-20/story/power_elites_join_the_fight_over_city_landfill_co

Power elites join the fight over city landfill contract
Story updated at 12:25 AM on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009

Opening the contract to operate the city's Trail Ridge Landfill to other bidders is a no-brainer. Here's one reason why:

The team rosters on both sides are filled with some of Jacksonville's top political persuaders.

An e-mail from the Mayor's Office lists the players who have been meeting weekly to figure out how to push through Mayor John Peyton's plan to simply give the 35-year, $750-million contract to the current landfill operator, Waste Management.

Sitting at that table are people you would expect:

- Adam Hollingsworth, Peyton's chief of staff who has a long history in Jacksonville politics starting with a job with Charlie Bennett. He also worked for Corrine Brown and Ed Austin. He helped run the campaign of a Peyton opponent in 2003, Mike Weinstein.

- Alan Mosley, Peyton's chief administrative officer and a former Public Works director.

- Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi and Chris Pearson, the city employees responsible for the landfill.

Additional mayoral staffers are sitting in, but it's the others at the table who tell the tale:

- Mike Tolbert, a long-time political consultant who dates back to former mayors Hans Tanzler and Jake Godbold. He ran Peyton's campaign in 2003, fell out of favor, but is now back in the fold. He has had a long business relationship with Waste Management.

- Bruce Barcelo, another long-time political consultant with close ties to the Chamber.

- Michael Munz, who is closely tied to the city's top Republicans. He ran campaigns for Tillie Fowler and John Delaney. He's now with the Dalton Agency, a well connected advertising and public relations firm.

- And - ding, ding, ding - Paul Harden, big- time City Council lobbyist who represents Waste Management. His participation is interesting since he has threatened to sue the city "until the cows come home" if Waste Management doesn't get the contract.

Also lobbying for Waste Management, according to the city's list of registered lobbyists, are Godbold and Karen Stearn, a former St. Johns County commissioner.

Leading the charge to open the contract to other bidders is Republic Services, another large solid waste company that's just trying to get a chance to operate the landfill.

On the Republic team:

- Jim Arnold, who has more than three decades in the landfill business.

- Paul McCormick, another long-time political consultant who, ironically, worked with Tolbert in 2003 to get Peyton elected.

- Michael Saylor, who once served as the city's planning director.

- Alberta Hipps, a former City Council president whose firm now lobbies City Hall.

- Tom Ingram and Stephen Greenhut, attorneys with Pappas Metcalf Jenks & Miller.

Susie Wiles, formerly a top aide with both Delaney and Peyton, worked with Republic but is no longer on the payroll.

Are you getting the picture?

City contracts, especially one this large, should be bid to remove politics and arm-twisting from the process.

That's not happening here. Just look at the players involved.

[stjr]

You have heard of the expression "follow the money....".

That applies here along with a corollary: "follow Paul Harden...."

Government in the sunshine - let me grab my sunglasses!