FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On July 3, 2012, the City of Miramar in Broward County, South Florida, awarded Sun Bergeron its solid waste disposal contract. The contract will run from July 4, 2013 through to July 2018 with three five-year renewal options. The award of the contract marked “a very rare and important occasion” according to Tom Good, Public Works Director, Miramar. The contract was the culmination of nearly two years of work by Broward County city managers who, after 20 years of limitations through a single contract with Wheelabrator Technologies, a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM), identified a window of opportunity to engage in free market options and explore new ways to generate savings in the area of solid waste management for Broward County’s cities and residents.
The transparent process that the city managers undertook truly exemplifies a government in the sunshine. With the city commissions’ philosophy to competitively bid services, the City of Miramar hired a solid waste consultant, Value Added Consulting, in 2010 and initiated an RFI for disposal service processes. The resulting report concluded that a formal RFP process should be initiated. The city extended invitations to high level decision executive administrators representing municipalities throughout Broward County to participate in stakeholder meetings in early 2011 to solicit input into the RFP development process. The RFP was advertised by the city in the Miami Herald on March 13, 2011 and two proposals were subsequently received – one from Wheelabrator Technologies and one from Sun Bergeron. A key clause included in the RFP was the ability for other municipalities to take advantage of the work done by Miramar and the city managers and, in the words of Mr. Good, “piggy-back” the final contract once awarded.
An independent financial analysis committee made up of city staff from Finance and Public Works Departments was tasked with completing a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the two companies audited Financial Statements for 2007 through 2010 using the financial results requested in the RFP. An evaluation team comprised of executives from the five cities evaluated the proposals under the guidance of Procurement Department staff. Because of the complexity of evaluating pricing using different tonnages a further decision was made on October 11, 2011 to request a Best and Final Offer (BAFO) from each proposer to be received by November 21, 2011.
The Committee scored the proposers based on their BAFO pricing alternatives and completed the evaluation process in accordance with all rules and regulations for public meetings. The City Commission validated the evaluation teams’ rankings and authorized the City Manager to negotiate a Solid Waste Disposal Agreement with Sun Bergeron – the highest ranked firm – on March 20, 2012. The Sun Bergeron proposal was evaluated as the one that would “return the greater benefits to the city,” said Vernon Hargray, ACM Operational Services, Miramar. The contract was formally approved on July 3, 2012 and will come into effect on July 4, 2013. The five year benefit to the City of Miramar will be $7.5 million.
The procurement process was competitive, inclusive, transparent and above all fair. Tom Good, Public Works Director for the City of Miramar said: “…this community is far better off because of the mayor and the commission for (their) extraordinary vision.” Mr. Good stated this was about an “unwavering focus on doing the right thing” for Broward County’s cities and residents.
Moving forward Sun Bergeron hopes that the transparent process and obvious benefits identified through the RFP resolution will inspire the other 26 eligible cities in Broward to piggy-back and realize multi-million dollar savings themselves. “This was a ground-breaking and visionary decision by the City of Miramar. The financial benefits we will give the City will be good reason for other municipalities to consider piggy-backing the city’s work,” says Ron Bergeron Sr., president, Sun Bergeron.
For full details of the RFP process and recommended approval of Sun Bergeron as the top ranked firm for the RFP watch the City of Miramar Commission Meeting from March 20, 2012 here.
ABOUT SUN BERGERON
Sun Bergeron is a joint venture between Sun Recycling and Bergeron Environmental Services operating together to achieve zero waste. Combined, Sun Bergeron has over 35 years experience in the waste and recycling industry and a proven history in logistics and disaster recovery including the BP Oil Spill clean-up in 2010. Pioneering innovation in the waste and recycling industry, Sun Bergeron is headquartered in Broward County, Florida. The more than 500 employees that represent Sun Bergeron are dedicated to the environment and currently recycle in excess of 75% of the solid waste materials they process, a state mandated goal by 2020. To find out more about Sun Bergeron visit www.sunbergeron.com.