A Bucks County judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction brought by residents and competing waste haulers as part of a lawsuit against Bristol Borough over the recent trash removal contract.
In a December 27 decision filed with the Clerk of Courts, Bucks County Judge Robert Mellon agreed with the borough and denied an injunction being sought by Advanced Disposal and Waste Management, which sought to invalidate the borough council’s decision to award J.P. Mascaro and Sons a five-year, $9.1 million contract for trash pickup. The initial court action was backed by several borough residents.
Advertisements
The dispute arose when Council unanimously awarded the five-year contract to the current vendor – J.P. Mascaro and Sons of Montgomery County – despite two lower bids. According to borough solicitor William Salerno, the lower bids of Advanced Disposal and Waste Management were discarded because they did not include the required financial bid security.
Court documents state the the lowest bid was $6.3 million for Advanced Disposal followed by Waste Management at $7.9 million.
In a press release put out by the borough, Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe II concluded that Council followed the law and awarded the bid to the borough’s specifications. This conclusion was held by the council and solicitor William Selerno since the bid was awarded.
Advertisements
The press release says that Advanced Disposal removed their claim lawsuit before the hearing and Waste Management failed to make any kind of strong argument during a hearing in Doylestown.
William Fox, general counsel for Mascaro, said, “Bristol Borough officials have been unfairly criticized for the contract it awarded to Mascaro, when, in fact, the Borough could not have lawfully awarded the contract to either of the two other disappointed bidders because the borough’s bid specifications specifically stated that ‘any bid received without the required bid security shall be rejected.’”
Advertisements
“Judge Mellon followed the clear law in holding that J.P. Mascaro and Sons was the only compliant bidder and in holding that council acted properly and lawfully in its contract award,” Salerno said in the release.
Even though the case was short lived, the suit still cost the borough taxpayers in attorney fees, according to borough officials.
Mascaro will begin the new contract on January 1. The contract contains “additional services” and the contract price for the next five years will stay the same.
Advertisements
Representatives from Advanced Disposal and Waste Management could not be reached for comment.
