On June 25, 2021 two (2) sealed bids were opened and read out loud to the public by the City Clerk. The sealed bids were submitted to the City by privately owned yard debris grinding companies. MW Collins, Inc. submitted a high bid of $1,900 per hour with a minimum of 40 hours stipulation. Payne’s Environmental Services, LLC submitted the low bid of $1,200 per hour and with no minimum grinding hours added to their bid amount.
As Council is aware, the City's Public Works Department collects yard debris as a service for the residents of New Port Richey. The yard debris is collected and transported to a City owned property located at 6420 Pine Hill Road. The processing and storage of the debris is regulated through a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Yard Vegetation Transfer Site Permit. Once the debris is dropped off at the site, it is pushed up into a pile until grinding of the debris is scheduled. The grinding process occurs about every six months depending on collection frequency, amount collected, and storage site capacity. Once the grinding of the material is completed it is made available back to the residents to be used for compost in gardens and flower beds at no charge. Through the years, staff has performed cost comparisons between purchasing equipment to perform the grinding in-house or continuing the existing contractual service for this type of activity. The results continue to demonstrate that contractual service agreements are more financially responsible than the purchasing of the equipment for the amount of usage the City historically performs this type of activity.