BY SHERRY CONOHAN
Staff Writer
SEA BRIGHT — After months of searching, the borough finally has found contractors who will pick up garbage and recyclables for the long haul.
The Borough Council, at its Feb. 17 meeting, awarded contracts to DeLisa Demolition Inc., of Neptune City, for garbage pickup over the next two years and 10 months, and to M&S Waste Service of Middletown, for recycling pickup over the next two years and 10 months.
The borough has been seeking new contractors since its arrangement with Highlands, which use to pick up garbage and recyclables in town, was terminated by that borough as of Dec. 31. When it first advertised for bids for the work, none were submitted.
For the first two months of this year, while the borough went out to bid again, it struck a contract with Bridge Disposal Inc., of Matawan for $8,000.
"We liked them. They did a great job," Councilwoman Maria Fernandes said of the Highlands service. "But they were not interested in continuing the pickups."
Fernandes said the borough is going to pay less for the pickup of garbage and recyclables in 2004 than it did in 2003.
Fernandes said under the borough’s agreement with DeLisa, the company will pick up garbage two times a week and make a bulk pickup every Thursday for $53,690 for the remaining 10 months of 2004, $65,195 for 2005, and $72,865 in 2006 for a total of $191,750.
She said M&S would pick up recyclables every Wednesday for $19,335 for the remaining 10 months of 2004, $23,202 for 2005 and $23,898.06 for 2006, for a total of $66,435.06.
Jay Holub, a representative of Marpal Disposal of Tinton Falls, objected to the two bidders who were awarded the contracts. He said they were newly formed companies, created in the last two years, and the bid submitted by Marpal was the low responsible bid.
Fernandes said Republic Services, doing business as Marpal, submitted a bid for garbage pickup two times a week of $66,000 for the remaining 10 months of 2004, $82,000 for 2005 and $86,000 for 2006, for a total of $234,000. She said Marpal’s bid on recycling was $34,000 for the remaining 10 months of 2004, $41,000 for 2005 and $43,000 for 2006, for a total of $118,000.
According to Fernandes, the owner of DeLisa Demolition is the son of the former owner of T.W. DeLisa, which held the contract for the borough’s garbage pickup five years ago but was bought out by Republic.