TO: The Solid Waste Disposal District Board of Commissioners
THROUGH: John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator
Sean C. Lieske, Director of Utility Services
FROM: Himanshu H. Mehta, PE, Managing Director, Solid Waste Disposal District
DATE: March 19, 2025
SUBJECT: Recommendation for Award of the Operation and Maintenance of Indian River County Landfill (Bid No. 2025028)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
On November 16, 2010, the Solid Waste Disposal District (SWDD) Board authorized the Solid Waste Operations and Maintenance Agreement (Agreement) with Republic Services of Florida, Limited Partnership (Republic Services). The agreement covers the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the county’s Class I Landfill as well as non-Class I Landfill services, which includes O&M of the landfill gas system. The original Agreement term was for 7 years thru December 31, 2024; however, on February 21, 2017, the SWDD Board approved an extension of the Agreement through December 31, 2024. In order to align this Agreement to our fiscal year calendar, on November 21, 2023, the SWDD Board approved the Twenty Second Amendment and Extension to Republic Services for the contract to terminate on September 30, 2025. The Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Budget includes a price per ton of $16.26 per ton and an annual overall cost of approximately $4 million dollars per year for the Class I Landfill O&M services. Currently, the non-Class I Landfill services include both some ancillary services within the footprint of the landfill as well as the O&M of the five Customer Convenience Centers, Blue Cypress Drop-Off facility and other ancillary services with a similar annual overall cost of approximately $4 million dollars per year.
On January 10, 2025, the IRC Procurement Division issued two separate Invitation to Bids (ITB’s), one for the O&M of the IRC Landfill (ITB No. 2025028) and the second for the O&M of the five Customer Convenience Centers (ITB NO. 2025029). Potential vendors had an opportunity to bid on one, both or none using our new procurement platform Bonfire available through the county website. The ITB's were prepared with the assistance of Kessler Consulting, Inc. (KCI) and their subcontractor S2L, Inc. The ITBs included a sample agreement, and were reviewed by IRC Risk Department and IRC County Attorney's Office prior to release.
The ITB was broken into two phases with Phase I being the Vendor Qualification Package that was due on January 31, 2025, followed by a mandatory pre-bid meeting on February 14, 2025, and Phase II being a Vendor Bid Package that was due on March 14, 2025, for the CCC ITB and on March 19, 2025, for the Landfill ITB.
The purpose of this agenda is to provide staff analysis and recommendation for award of the Operation and Maintenance of Indian River County Landfill (Bid No. 2025028).
ANALYSIS
Term:
Under the new ITB, SWDD staff has proposed an initial term of 10 years commencing October 1, 2025, and terminating on September 30, 2035. After the initial 10-year term, the agreement may be renewed for one (1) additional term of 10 years under the same terms and conditions as the initial term, including amendments. If renewed, per a written and executed extension agreement, the additional 10-year term will begin on October 1, 2035, and terminate on September 30, 2045.
Landfill Hours of Operations:
Under the new ITB, SWDD staff has proposed that the potential vendors provide a base bid for the current seven (7) days of operations from 7 am to 5 pm and alternative bid for a cost savings if the IRC landfill was to be closed on Sundays.
Landfill Summary of Scope of Work and Request for Bids:
Currently, the scope of work under the landfill contract primarily focuses on the O&M of the Class I landfill and is billed on a per ton basis. The other services within the landfill property are billed on a lump sum basis as non-Class I landfill services and included within the CCC services.
The new landfill ITB was set up to include all the services within the landfill property as well as litter control near the landfill. The Class I landfill services were still requested to be bid on a per-ton basis, as well as requesting a detailed cost breakout for the various services at the landfill. The landfill gas O&M services were excluded from the landfill ITB and will be solicited via a separate procurement process.
A general summary of the O&M scope of work under the landfill ITB includes: 1) Class I Landfill; 2) Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) which is to receive and load Mixed Recyclables and Old Corrugated Cardboard; 3) Waste Tires; 4) Scrap Metal/White Goods; 5) Household Hazardous Waste (HHW); 6) Small Load Drop Off Area; 7) Warehouse Facility; 8) Pre/Post Storm Services and 9) Other General Services. Within the other general services, the ITB also included both on-site litter control as well as approximately 8.5 miles of litter control off-site on various roads leading to the landfill.
As some of the equipment utilized or provided to our vendor(s) at the landfill site has become past its useful life, the potential vendors were requested to provide SWDD the following items in the Landfill ITB: 1) Processing Machine for White Styrofoam; and 2) Single Ram Vertical Bailer for Loose-Plastic Film. It was recommended that the potential vendors include an ice machine and an air compressor for their operational needs. Additionally, the potential vendors were allowed to use the existing fueling facility and a wash bay area. The potential vendors were requested to provide a 15-passenger van for landfill tours either by renting or purchasing and also requested to provide assistance for a future landfill 5K and other community events. The Landfill ITB continues to exclude the Scalehouse Operations, the Yard Waste Facility, the Biosolids Facility and the Leachate Evaporation Plant.
The ITB requested a per ton price for the Class I Landfill O&M using a five-year annual average of 220,000 tons, as well as a monthly cost for the O&M of the other eight items listed above. The ITB also requested that the potential vendors include the cost of providing soil and mulch for cover material within the per ton price, and a rebate per ton if the SWDD were to continue to provide up to 15,000 tons per year of soil cover and 15,000 tons per year of mulch. In addition, the ITB requested the hourly and daily cost for operating the landfill and the ancillary services. Finally, the ITB requested a base pricing for 7-days per week operation and an alternative pricing for 6-days per week operation with the landfill closed on Sundays.
Results:
At 2:00 PM on March 19, 2025, the Procurement Division opened bids from GFL Environmental, Inc., Republic Services of Florida, LP, and WM of Florida, Inc., as all of these were received in a timely manner.
All three vendors provided the required bid bond and all associated ITB documents and were deemed responsive and responsible bidders.
SWDD staff along with our consultants reviewed the bids and provide the following summary:
Option 1: 7-DAY PER WEEK OPERATIONS WITH CONTRACTOR PROVIDING COVER SOIL AND MULCH
|
VENDOR |
Republic Services |
GFL Environmental |
WM |
|
Class 1 Services |
$4,114,000.00 ($18.70 per ton) |
$4,525,400.00 ($20.57 per ton) |
$7,469,000.00 ($33.95 per ton) |
|
Ancillary Services |
$1,477,681.08 |
$3,895,908.00 |
$2,377,416.00 |
|
TOTAL = |
$5,591,681.08 |
$8,421,308.00 |
$9,846,416.00 |
Option 2: 7-DAY PER WEEK OPERATIONS WITH SWDD PROVIDING COVER SOIL AND MULCH:
|
VENDOR |
Republic Services |
GFL Environmental |
WM |
|
Class 1 Services |
$4,070,000.00 ($18.50 per ton) |
$4,173,400.00 ($18.97 per ton) |
$7,326,000.00 ($33.30 per ton) |
|
Ancillary Services |
$1,477,681.08 |
$3,895,908.00 |
$2,377,416.00 |
|
TOTAL = |
$5,547,681.08 |
$8,069,308.00 |
$9,703,416.00 |
Option 3: 6-DAY PER WEEK OPERATIONS WITH CONTRACTOR PROVIDING COVER SOIL AND MULCH:
|
VENDOR |
Republic Services |
GFL Environmental |
WM |
|
Class 1 Services |
$4,015,000.00 ($18.25 per ton) |
$4,408,800.00 ($20.04 per ton) |
$7,326,000.00 ($33.30 per ton) |
|
Ancillary Services |
$1,477,681.08 |
$3,469,764.00 |
$2,377,416.00 |
|
TOTAL = |
$5,492,681.08 |
$7,878,564.00 |
$9,703,416.00 |
Option 4: 6-DAY PER WEEK OPERATIONS WITH SWDD PROVIDING COVER SOIL AND MULCH:
|
VENDOR |
Republic Services |
GFL Environmental |
WM |
|
Class 1 Services |
$3,971,000 ($18.05 per ton) |
$4,056,800.00 ($18.44 per ton) |
$7,183,000.00 ($32.65 per ton) |
|
Ancillary Services |
$1,477,681.08 |
$3,469,764.00 |
$2,377,416.00 |
|
TOTAL = |
$5,448,681.08 |
$7,526,564.00 |
$9,560,416.00 |
Overall, Republic Services is the apparent low bidder for all of the options included in the ITB. In evaluating the options by Republic Services, closing on Sundays would provide a $99,000 per year savings and with SWDD providing cover materials would provide an additional $44,000 per year savings, for a total savings of $143,000 per year. Considering the disruptive impact of closing on Sundays to SWDD and our residents, staff recommends that we keep the landfill open 7 days per week. Also, staff recommends we require the vendor to purchase their own cover materials.Overall, staff recommends the award to Republic Services under Option 1 above with 7 days per week operations with the contractor providing the cover soil and mulch materials.
In comparing the current tipping rate of $16.26 per ton to the proposed $18.70 per ton, this is a $2.44 per ton or a 15% increase in costs. In comparing the current budget of $4 million per year to the proposed $5.6 million per year costs, this is a $1.6 million per year, or 40% increase in costs. A contributing factor is that the waste industry as a whole has also been impacted by inflation and as our waste companies have informed us, our historical consumer price index approvals have not met industry standards.
Below is a summary of the costs for the ancillary services offered by Republic Services under Option 1:
|
Ancillary Services |
Per Month |
Per Year |
|
1. Material Recovery Facility |
$ 22,161.98 |
$ 265,943.76 |
|
2. Waste Tire Storage Area |
$ 7,387.33 |
$ 88,647.96 |
|
3. Scrap Metal Storage Area |
$ 1,231.22 |
$ 14,774.64 |
|
4. Clean Concrete Storage Area |
$ 4,924.88 |
$ 59,098.56 |
|
5. Styrofoam and Loose Plastic Film Facility |
$ 23,393.20 |
$ 280,718.40 |
|
6. Household Hazardous Waste Facility |
$ 19,699.53 |
$ 236,394.36 |
|
7. Small Load Drop Off Facility |
$ 19,699.53 |
$ 236,394.36 |
|
8. Other General Services |
$ 24,642.42 |
$ 295,709.04 |
|
Total = |
$123,140.09 |
$1,477,681.08 |
Staff is recommending that the SWDD Board authorize the County Administrator and his designated staff to negotiate on behalf of the SWDD Board to closely look at these ancillary services and see if some cost saving measures can be achieved to the benefit of our county residents. For example, maybe SWDD can direct purchase the new Styrofoam machine and a vertical bailer for the loose plastic film that was required for the vendor to purchase in the ITB.
Overall, staff has completed a fair and transparent procurement process to ensure that the continuity of services as well as the safe and proper operations of the permitted Indian River County Class I Landfill are maintained for the service of all our residents.
BUDGETARY IMPACT
Funding for the SWDD Class I Landfill services for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/2026 will be budgeted and available in the SWDD/Landfill/Contractual Services account, number 41121734-033489, in the estimated amount of $5,591,681.08, which is funded from SWDD assessments and user fees.
|
Description |
Account |
Amount |
|
SWDD/Landfill/Contractual Services |
41121734-033489 |
$5,591,681.08 |
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTIONS
n/a
POTENTIAL FUTURE BOARD ACTIONS
n/a
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Infrastructure
OTHER PLAN ALIGNMENT
n/a
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that its Board approve the following:
a) Award Bid No. 2025028 to Republic Services of Florida, Limited Partnership as the lowest, responsive, responsible bidder for the Operation and Maintenance of the Indian River County Landfill to be operated 7-days per week with the vendor providing cover material for an annual grand total in the amount of $5,591,681.08.
b) Authorize the County Administrator and his designated staff to negotiate on behalf of the SWDD Board with Republic Services to optimize the sample agreement for the overall benefit of all county residents; and
c) Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the sample agreement, as presented, pending receipt of the required bonds and insurance, and final approval of a negotiated Agreement by the County Attorney’s Office as to form and legal sufficiency.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Sample Agreement