Mascaro low bidder for trash pickup
Terms would hike annual cost by $41 or more per customer
POTTSTOWN >> Judging by the results revealed Wednesday night by Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller, it looks like the borough’s current trash hauler will also be the borough’s new trash hauler, at least for the next three years.
And customers will be paying at least $41 more per year for the service.
Despite early interest from several area haulers, only two firms bid on the new trash pickup contract for the borough — J.P Mascaro and Sons and Waste Management, Keller said.
Keller said the bid included a variety of options, such as a three-year contract for a fiveyear one; added bulk pickup provisions as well as provisions for penalty for missed pick-ups, the most frequent complaint against Mascaro.
In the past six months, in response to frequent complaints about missed pick-ups, borough staff have been following and monitoring Mascaro trucks on their routes and instituting fines for missed pickups.
“They got the message pretty quickly,” said Keller, noting that
complaints about missed pickups have dropped off somewhat.
In the new contract, escalating fines will punish the hauler and remain in place until they can go six months without a missed pickup complaint, he said.
Keller also said the contract bid contains provisions for contract renewals which can be denied for poor performance.
As it stands, Mascaro submitted the lowest two bids.
According to the figures Keller cited, a three-year contract with Mascaro and weekly pickup of one bulk item will increase a household’s quarterly costs by $10.32, or $41.28 per year, the lowest price.
A five-year pact would raise the price by 10.60 per quarter or $42.40 per year.
By contrast, the Waste Management bids for a three-year contract with weekly bulk pickup would increase the quarterly bill for a household by $11.91 per quarter, or $47.64 a year. The price would jump by $12.12 per quarter, or $48.48 per year, for the fiveyear contract.
Councilman Joe Kirkland questioned whether council is required to take the lowest bidder.
“The difference between bidders is only about $1 per quarter, and considering the complaints we get” about Mascaro, Kirkland said.
Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. said state law requires governments to award the contract to the lowest qualified bidder to avoid favoritism and to provide the most savings possible to the public.
Councilwoman Trenita Lindsay complained that because the trash bill is levied in combination with the water bill, “I can’t short Mascaro when they miss a pick-up because then my water gets turned off.”
Keller said it would increase costs significantly to issue separate bills, or to have Mascaro do the billing.
J.P. Mascaro III was in the audience and told council that 2019 had been one of the most difficult for trash haulers, due larger to a labor shortage.
Last year, the firm went so far as to set up an employment center on High Street to try to recruit more workers.
“We serve more than 100 municipalities and we’ve had problems with three or four and Pottstown is one of those,” Mascaro said. “But we’re committed to Pottstown. We’re committed to getting things back on track.”
Responding to Kirkland’s observation about the difference in price, he noted “that difference may seem small, but it adds up to more than $1 million over the course of the contract.”
Borough Council President Dan Weand suggested council members read up on all the new provisions and penalties contained in the new contract.
Keller said the staff will have a recommendation for council at the Monday meeting, although voting need not occur until the October meeting. This article first appeared as a post in The Digital Notebook blog.
“We’re committed to Pottstown. We’re committed to getting things back on track.”
— J.P. Mascaro III