Council to reconsider Ware Disposal’s $6M contract

The Newport Beach City Council will reconsider a $6-million Newport Coast trash contract it awarded to Ware Disposal on May 8, council members decided Tuesday.

When council members voted to accept Ware’s bid to collect Newport Coast’s trash, there was debate over whether the company had met the city’s requirement to use alternative fuel trucks. Ware’s bid was the lowest, but city staff had recommended CR&R; because it had the proper vehicles. The council also haggled for items such as extra recycling bins.

In choosing a bidder, the council ended up negotiating on the dais, and that probably wasn’t the best process to follow, said Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, who asked that the contract be reconsidered.

Councilman Don Webb agreed, saying, “If we’re going to allow one person to make significant changes to the bid, we really in all fairness need to let the other bidders have that opportunity too.”

The decision to reconsider wasn’t because of anonymous documents the city received that criticized various bidders, Gardner said.

The council will decide at its next meeting whether to rebid the contract. If it gets rebid, the city may have to extend its current contract with Waste Management, which expires July 1.

City officials also could face litigation from Ware Disposal. Attorney Patrick Munoz, representing the company, said his client has spent about $1 million on equipment to serve the city, and “if they don’t get the contract I think you can safely assume they’ll be in here asking you to reimburse them.”

— Alicia Robinson