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The lawsuit accuses the town of awarding “a publicly bid contract to the lowest bidder without making any determination whatsoever that the low bidder was the ‘lowest responsible bidder’ in accordance with New York General Municipal Law Section 103 and Town Law Section 122.” The lawsuit is attached below.
During the Town Board’s work session on Oct. 23, council members voted unanimously to award the bid to Competition Carting. The contract goes into place on Jan. 1 and will be $2.49 million annually for a period of two years. C.R.P. was the second lowest bidder for the contract at $2.98 million.
At the meeting, Supervisor Michael Grace said there were “legal issues” involved if the low bidder had been rejected. Council member Nick Bianco said he reluctantly voted for Competition Carting, and said being a “responsible” bidder was not part of the vote.
“The evidence could not be more clear,” the lawsuit reads. “The Town Board failed to consider whether its lowest bidder was also its lowest responsible bidder. It simply awarded the 2013 contract to the lowest bidder.”
"I don’t think it has much merit whatsoever," Grace said Tuesday, when asked about the lawsuit. "It’s basically the second lowest bidder is calling the lowest bidder irresponsible so they can get the bid. "
The lawsuit cites a report made by Kim Angliss-Gage, the superintendent of Yorktown’s Environmental Conservation Department. Angliss-Gage interviewed Competition Carting owner Brian Amico on Oct. 22 and expressed concerns over his ability to perform the 2013 contract because of the short time period he has to map routes, hire employees, and purchase equipment.
Amico acknowledged the short time-frame but said he will have everything in place by Jan. 1. Amico also said he will be able to do the job at lower cost because he has less overhead than C.R.P., which has more than 570 employees.
A C.R.P. employee told The Daily Voice that his company uses 10 trucks and 19 employees to pick up trash from nearly 10,000 residential areas in Yorktown. Amico will do the job with eight trucks and 12 employees.
C.R.P. had been Yorktown’s residential garbage collector for seven years. The town's initial six-year contract with the company expired Dec. 31, 2011, and it was brought back on a one-year contract in 2012.
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