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June 14, 1996
The Lenox, Mich., company that initially offered to handle Warren's trash for $9.1 million -- the highest price among four companies wanting the contract -- lowered its offer to $7.309 million.
The new price, announced at a public negotiating session Thursday with city officials, is $60,000 less than Standard Disposal of Warren, which until then had the lowest price.
No decision was made on which company will get the multimillion-dollar deal, but city officials said Warren could save between $8 million and $9 million over the previous contract with City Management.
Pine Tree Acres is a subsidiary of City Management.
Mayor Mark Steenbergh has repeatedly called the existing City Management contract "a sweetheart deal" negotiated by the former administration five years ago.
Edwin Hoover, senior vice-president of City Management, said he plans to hire Warren Waste Transfer, another City Management subsidiary, to do the job if Pine Tree gets the contract.
Standard Disposal Executive Vice-President Dominic Campo said the public negotiations leave too much room for politics.
"Why allow people to change their mind?" he asked. "I think we're going to get hammered, even though we've jumped through all these hoops. We've had the best offer on the table since March 28 until today."
At Thursday's session, city officials told the companies they didn't have to amend their earlier offers.
"We're neither encouraging nor discouraging you," Ron Guzi, the city's purchasing director, told the company officials. "But far be if from us to deny you the opportunity to make an offer that would benefit the citizens of Warren."
Another critic of the process, Councilman Cecil D. St. Pierre Jr., has complained that other city officials were withholding information from him. But city attorney George Constance said St. Pierre was not denied information about the negotiations he had sought under the Freedom of Information Act. The information is either unavailable or doesn't exist, Constance said.
Two companies besides Pine Tree and Standard want the contract. Browning Ferris Industries bid $7.8 million, and Waste Management offered to pick up the trash for $8.1 million.
The council is expected to select a winner at the June 25 meeting.