The agreement with ACTenviro to operate the Landfill and Corning Household Hazardous Waste facilities expires December 31, 2024. As such, included in your agenda packet is an option to either bring back a Request for Proposals for similar services to the June JPA II Full Board meeting or to approve an extension with ACTenviro for an additional year. The proposed extension from ACTenviro includes an increase of $3 per hour to the labor rate for a Chemist and Technician, as well as a stop fee of $350. These increases equate to an overall annual increase of approximately $4,300.
Over the term of the agreement, ACTenviro has had significant operational issues, resulting primarily from frequent operational staff turnover. ACTenviro staff and the Agency Manager met onsite on numerous occasions to discuss the issues, and had several follow-up conversations and emails, which include overall facility maintenance, failing to remove reusable wastes for redistribution in the Reuse of Available Products program, and leaving the facility without properly packaging and storing wastes received at events. As you may recall, these are the same issues that plagued the facility during the last contractual period with Clean Earth.
Additionally, Agency staff conduct monthly inspections of each facility, which show a pattern of substandard performance in executing their duties. Inspection records can be made available upon request. Further, Agency staff must manage the recovery of reusable materials, a task that should be completed by ACTenviro, adding to Agency staff’s workload.
As such, staff is proposing that the Board decide if a one-year extension to the current agreement with ACTenvrio, with associated increases in labor costs and a stop fee, is warranted or if staff should prepare a Request for Proposals to be considered at the June JPA II Full Board meeting.