LAKE FOREST : City to Seek Bids on Trash Hauling

Negotiations over the remaining two years of the city’s waste-hauling contract were shut down by the City Council last week.

Instead of signing a new, seven-year agreement with the current vendor, Waste Management of Orange County, the city will seek bids for the trash franchise.

The council agreed 5 to 0 on the issue.

“We are not likely to do worse in a competitive-bid situation,” said Councilwoman Ann Van Haun.

After working on a new pact for several months, city officials and Waste Management negotiators agreed on everything but one issue.

Neither side could agree on who would pay for recycling programs that might be needed to help the city conform to a state law requiring a 25% reduction in landfill waste by 1995.

“That’s the big, unknown cost,” Van Haun said. “Even though we can put in for an extension of the deadline because we’re a new city, we felt these costs were something (Waste Management) should bear.”

Representatives of the trash hauler said they offered financial incentives of almost $2.2 million to compensate Lake Forest for any potential recycling costs.

Waste Management offered to reduce the monthly rate for residential customers to $12.75 per month for each household--a $1.03 monthly reduction.

In addition, the waste disposal firm has not raised its monthly fee for the past two years. The company is entitled to increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.

“Everyone thought we had put together a good package, except for this one item” involving recycling costs, said Alan Walsh, Waste Management division controller. “The whole issue is the unknown quantity of service that was going to be required to meet the state recycling law.”

“There could be a whole menu of programs that would have to be implemented, and whatever the tab was, we pay for it,” he said. “At $12.75 per month, they’re not going to save a lot” by going to open bidding.

The council had taken strong criticism from residents two years ago when they ordered city officials to open negotiations for the trash contract.

“I think we probably surprised some of (the critics),” Van Haun said. “They kept accusing us of being in the pocket of Waste Management. That was pretty ludicrous.”