Lyon County staff members are drafting a request for proposal for solid waste disposal in its second process to collect public feedback on what should be included in the agreement after a public workshop was held Aug. 18.
Representatives from potential bidders D & S Waste Removal of Yerington, Olcese Waste Services of Mound House and Waste Management attended to ask questions and give insight about their operations, and commissioners expressed concerns based on past or current input from community members. The most recent workshop is the county’s latest attempt after the board voted to accept a proposal submitted by Olcese on March 3 this year and Waste Management submitted a notice of protest to the county on March 9.
Community Development Director Andrew Haskin provided a brief overview of what a request for proposal is and how the process works. He said the county was in the first phase for the latest waste disposal agreement in which Lyon was discussing its requirements. He would then take suggestions and draft the document, which would then be reviewed and approved by the commissioners. Afterward, the RFP is noticed and advertised, awarded in February and the contract begins March 1, 2024.
Board Chairwoman Vida Keller said it didn’t seem bidders were able to compete at a fair comparison, with Lyon requiring companies to purchase new vehicles, as an example, to maintain county roads or conversely because the roads might wear out their vehicles quickly. Keller said that often isn’t fair to those who might not be able afford buying new trucks or vehicles from the start just to make a bid.
The discussion, lasting about three hours, debated the merits of mandatory pickup, code enforcement, concerns about transfer stations and size of vehicles and bulky items.
Keller said she wanted to make sure the bidders received a fair “apples to apples” comparison when being considered. But County Manager Jeff Page that might not be likely for a number of factors.
“When you want to compare ‘apples to apples,’ we can’t predict the future and the way the population goes in the county,” Page said. “In central Lyon County, there’s lots of places to buy property and build. And bear in mind, we are the oddball county. We are the only ones with geographic population issues. Churchill has a few pockets, but we have five distinct community bases. In Dayton, you have three community bases wrapped up in one.”
Page also said the county should choose a bidder who would make sure a local contact is in place who would be willing to respond to local problems decisively and with swiftness.
“That’s the biggest complaint I’ve gotten in the last four to five e-mails on this issue,” he told board members. “Residents say, ‘We want somebody to talk to who’s here who understands Lyon issues.’”
The workshop wrapped up with Keller reminding the public Haskin would need time to consolidate suggestions and requests from the board and public. He has been tasked with drafting a presentable RFP to the board.
Page said the entire process, not outlined by statute, “didn’t happen overnight.”
“We are living with regulations that were caused by the sins of the past,” Page said.
Commissioner Ken Gray said he took issue with that.
“Some of those regulations were passed in the middle of the night,” he said.
