2018-03-28 BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Selectmen – March 28, 2018 Page 1 of 9 Selectmen’s Meeting March 28, 2018 A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2018 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Ciccolo; and Mr. Lucente were present as well as Ms. Axtell, Assistant Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Ms. Hai and Mr. Valente were absent. Open Meeting Law Complaint Regarding Article 45 of the 2018 Annual Town Meeting/Historic Districts Commission Ad Hoc 40C Study Committee Ms. Barry noted that a copy of the letter of complaint was in the meeting packet and on file on the Selectmen’s Office. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to delegate responsibility for responding to the Open Meeting Law Complaint filed on March 26, 2018 by Grant Carrow regarding Article 45 of 2018 Annual Town Meeting to Town Counsel. Trash and Recycling Collection Update David Pinsonneault, Public Works Director, and Robert Beaudoin, Environmental Services Superintendent, summarized the new trash and recycling contract process to date, asking the Selectmen to grant authority to the Town Manager to execute the new trash and recycling contract with EL Harvey. The new contract would start July 1, 2018. Mr. Pinsonneault stated that Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for trash and recycling collection were solicited in July 2017, yielding four responses. Vendors had been asked to provide pricing for three different options: manual trash and manual recycling, automated trash and automated recycling, automated trash and manual recycling. When Public hearings were held in October 2017, the resulting recommendation was to pursue two options: a 5-year status quo contract and a 6-year contract with year one being status quo and years 2 - 6 begin automated recycling. Dissatisfaction with current vendor JRM has mounted. During the proposal timeframe, JRM requested an increase of $30,000 per year to obtain a performance bond, something all other vendors included the original pricing. In December, JRM stated it could no longer honor its pricing but would continue to negotiate. In February 2018, JRM informed the Town that, due to the collapse of the recycling materials market, it would begin charging a fee of $80 per ton, up from $0 today. There have also been a number of recent customer service complaints and Mr. Pinsonneault noted that JRM has no experience with automated collections, if the Town decides to switch collection methods during the term of the new contract. Given that collection contracts are exempt from Chapter 30B of the Bidding Laws, staff reached out to a number of other vendors and engaged in a positive dialogue with EL Harvey. In contrast to JRM, EL Harvey provided pricing that is $800,000 less over the 5-year period, using the status quo manual collection method. If Lexington switches to automated recycling, EL Harvey would charge $200,000 less. Additionally, EL Harvey’s recycling fee would be $70/ton, compared to JRM’s $80/ton, with the possibility of a reduction if the company receives