This Week in City Hall: May 9

City Council will meet in closed and open sessions Tuesday, May 9. Here’s what’s on the agenda for public input:

Trash Pickup Cleanup

In an agenda item continued from last week, the Public Works department proposes to “grant an Exclusive Franchise Agreement” for trash pickup to Athens Services, Inc., kicking Burrtec to the can.

• Some background: Riverside has 63,484 residential trash pickup sites (42,323 are serviced by the City, 21,161 by Burrtec) and 7,408 commercial pickups serviced by Athens and CR&R. Contracts with the external pickup providers have been in place since 2001 and expire June 30, 2023. Proposals for new contracts were due in November 2022. The City claims Burrtec was “non-responsive due to lack of proposal bond for sufficient amount” to cover residential or commercial needs.

At the City Council Meeting Tuesday, May 2, representatives from Burrtec and Athens spoke during public comment.

“When we learned of that clerical mistake and oversight, we immediately corrected the problems that very same day and remitted said bonds in the corrected amounts,” said Richard Nino, Vice President at Burrtec Waste Industries, “The RFP document is clear; the City reserves the right to waive minor irregularities and in the requirements of the RFP as may be deemed in the best interest to the City.”

“In the RFP process, the only thing I’m concerned with is getting the best possible product and service at the best possible price for the constituency of Riverside. Anything else, I think, is not fair and is a violation of our responsibility to the citizens of Riverside,” said Ward 3 Councilmember Ronaldo Fierro, “This is something I want more time with.”