(Photo Source: Unsplash).
Village of Marathon officials are currently reviewing a proposed garbage and recycling contract they received through the recent bidding process.
Blue Moose Sanitation, located right in Marathon, was the only company to put in a bid with the village. According to village mayor Scott Chamberlin, Blue Moose is proposing a contract that will go from June 1 of this year to May 31, 2027.
Blue Moose is looking to charge $9,250 per month, plus $500 in monthly diesel fuel surcharges. The company chose the option to provide totes, due to the company’s trucks collecting garbage and recycling with an automated handle.
Chamberlin is hoping to know how much Blue Moose’s proposed contract will equate to each village resident at the Board of Trustees meeting on April 20.
At the Village’s Board of Trustees April 6 meeting, Chamberlin said the village requested about 420 garbage bins and 420 recycling bins for residents. Chad Parker, owner of Blue Moose Sanitation who was present at the meeting, said new bins wouldn’t be available until the beginning of July.
Chamberlin noted over the phone Monday afternoon that the bidding process is closed, but the village could reopen it if they decide not to go with Blue Moose’s contract.
“We do have the right to turn down any and all bids,” he said. “We’re still digesting (the contract) and trying to figure out what the increase is going to mean to taxpayers.”
One part of Blue Moose’s contract that Chamberlin is looking to recalculate is the numbers for fuel price escalation/de-escalation. The recent rise of gas prices have played a larger part in contract negotiations, but Chamberlin believes Blue Moose’s monthly asking price of $500 for fuel is “not the proper way to calculate.”
“It’s something we’re going to have to iron out if we do go with (Blue Moose’s) contract,” he said.
At the April 6 meeting, Parker mentioned the price bidded out by Blue Moose is the “same price we bid three years ago.”
“The only difference is the fuel surcharge. Fuel is double what it was three years ago. We can’t control the fluctuation of fuel prices,” Parker said.
Parker noted the last time Blue Moose put in a bid, the company was “the only bidder,” before the village went with Elite Services Trash Removal, Inc. of Tully the last three years.
“This is our one submission. If it has to bid out again, we will not submit a re-bid,” Parker said.
Chamberlin said the Village Board of Trustees will make a decision on Blue Moose’s proposed contract at its next meeting.
