NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — City garbage hauler Richard’s Disposal Inc. was subcontracted by businessman Troy Henry’s consulting firm back in July, and eventually went on to win the rights to a $7.1 million city garbage collection contract.
The owner of Richard’s, Alvin Richard, says Henry tried to get him to take a per-location deal after the two allegedly already decided on a fixed cost agreement.
“We the city implored Henry consulting and Richard’s disposals to work collaboratively to resolve their issues,” NOLA Sanitation Director Matt Torri said.
In October, Henry ultimately decided to part ways with Richard’s and sign a new subcontractor, Clean Force, which was quickly approved by the selection committee.
“Based on the timeline and the importance of this contract, the city did need to move forward because we need a contractor in place. There’s lead times associated with the procurement of equipment, having resources, planning and so on, so we couldn’t have one of the biggest services provided in this contract, the daily solid waste, recycling out there is unknown as we approach the contract start date,” Torri said.
However, council members Helena Moreno and JP Morrell now want to freeze the new contract due to concerns of legality and increase in costs. The contract needs council approval by Nov. 23, but now it’s unclear if that will happen, and some local businesses are fearing the worst.
“At the end of the night, you’ll see all of the bars here on this row, we’ll all bring our trash out. We fill our cans as best we can and we have to leave them on the sidewalk because they get overfill. If those bags aren’t getting picked up, you’re not going to be able to walk down charters,” Backspace Bar Manager Benjamin Kramer said
Torri says the city will make sure there will be no issues with trash come the Nov. 24, regardless of the contract’s status.
“The city will always assure that sanitation services are provided in the French Quarter and the CBD, so who’s providing it on the 23rd potentially could be a question, but we will be assured that those services are being provided,” Torri said.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
