Coconut Creek Rejects Low Bid To Favor More Costly Deal
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Coconut Creek administrators are accused of rejecting a low bid for picking up garbage and then trying steer a lucrative waste contract to the city’s long-time hauler.
It happened during a meeting held in violation of the Sunshine Law, according to a bid protest by Waste Pro of Florida.
At stake are millions that residents will pay for disposing of waste after October.
The protest alleges a bid process that was bent and twisted to favor All Service, who has held the city’s contract for years.
“Somebody doesn’t want to let All Service go…The whole thing is screwed up. They should throw the whole thing out and do it again,” said a spokesperson for another waste firm who asked that their name not be used.
According to the bid protest:
*In June, proposals containing the bids were accepted for a new contract.
*All Service was not the low bidder.
*The selection committee consisting of five administrators and city employees threw out the bids and ordered firms to rebid.
*On July 14, the committee met in violation of the Sunshine Law, with no notice and without taking minutes. They picked All Service.
“Notwithstanding the fact that Waste Pro’s pricing was substantially less than All Service’s, all five member of the Selection Committee ranked All Service, the city’s existing solid waste provider, as the number one ranked proposal,” states the protest.
The spokesperson for another firm backed most elements of Waste Pro’s protest.
I don’t know who is right, but something stinks in Coconut Creek. It is all happening under the administration of City Manager David Rivera.
First Rivera tried to sneak an extension of his contract through. It was exposed by Browardbeat.com here.
Now his administrators are accused of trying to manipulate the multi-million dollar waste contract.
Public discussion of the waste issue has been repeatedly postponed. Why?
City commissioners are notoriously weak in Coconut Creek since Ron Greenstein and Jim Waldman moved on. It is a disgrace what has been happening there.
This waste mess should be hashed out in public at a televised meeting. It is too important to brush under the table.
Let the public judge if commissioners are being led around by the nose by Rivera as I suspect.
Grow a set of cojones, commissioners! Or face opposition at the next election.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
OMG, televised meetings in Coconut Creek!!! Buddy, The taxpaying residents of Coconut Creek couldn’t possibly afford it (Paying for Dave Rivera’s $200k salary and the other six-figure salaries of the Assistant City Manager and the City Clerk). The City couldn’t possibly find the money for televised commission meetings. They prefer to save the taxpayers monies with(illegal) backroom dealings.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
The residents of Cocout Creek needs to hold their commissioner fiscally responsible for their hard earned tax dollars. If the commissioners cannot make a decision without being lead through the nose by Dave Rivera, then the residents need to vote for a new slate of leaders.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Rivera has got to go.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
You have it right, Buddy.
Becky Tooley is the only one with guts. The rest of them including Mayor Lou Sarbone are such pussies. Rivera is really the commission and mayor.
August 24th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
“I don’t know who’s right, but something stinks…”
This is just lazy reasoning. Maybe something improper took place, but maybe not. I think blindly accepting the allegations of a company that lost out in a bid selection process is a bit risky.
Then again, trying to get to the bottom of this might be a lot of work.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Sounds like a job for the new IG. There is just no way that this in not a lobbyist driven deal. I would be looking into the daily dealings of Santucci. That is a not so ancient boneyard of information. While they’re at it, they should look at the Wilma expenditures. I know it is mostly federal money, but they were buddies with Bob Parks and Moskowitz.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Hey Creek Girl,
Look into what is going on at the police department and the background of Deputy Police Chief Robert Biondolillo and you will know all you need to know about Coconut Creek.
The guy was federally indicted. The charges were dismissed after a government witness spoke about another incident he was involved in (Workers Comp Scandal in Sunrise in the 90’s)
He sued the Government and a federal judge ruled that he was not a credible witness.
Coconut Creek didnt even do a full background check on the guy when they hired him last year.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
South Florida government is incredibly corrupt. Does this really surprise anyone?
August 25th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Hurray for Buddy Nevins! At least someone is aware that Rivera and his “dream team” top administrators run the city in any way they wish, regardless of what is best for the city. Futhermore, nevins is spot on about the weakndess of the city commission and their inability to manage the city manager. Somehow, somewhere they lost sight of the fact they are his boss, not just 5 more of his intimidated employees. Rivera’s management is NOT in the best interest of Coconut Creek.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Wow another underhanded deal by the city manager David J. Rivera and his top administration. Just what our city needs: another black eye. If the recent activities of our city manager that have been made public aren’t enough to call for his termination, just think of what we haven’t been made aware of yet. Thank God he wasn’t able to get his contract extended as he tried to do recently. Obviously he doesn’t care about Coconut Creek or it’s residents. His greed is being fed by the commisioners’ and the Mayor’s ignorance. And it is being fed well. Maybe it is about time for a state and/or federal investigation.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
I AM PROUD OF YOU BUDDY!!!
THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN LIED TOO!!!
August 25th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Does anyone Realize that Waste Mgmt. was double-dipping customers years ago and that’s how All Service Refuse got the contract from Coconut Creek?
It was proven @ a Commission Meeting years and years ago.
That makes All Service honest, doesn’t it?
So what do you OR can you say about that?
That’s what really happened.
Betcha no one knew that secret, did you?
August 25th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
No, Git-er-done, assuming your information about Waste Management is correct (and assuming you arent one of Rivera’s lackeys), dishonesty by one company does not insure that another company is honest. But that isnt the issue. The issue is whether the City violated sunshine laws or other laws in awarding a bid to a higher bidder and behind closed doors. Sunshine laws are named that because they are designed to open up government decisions to public scrutiny.
August 25th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Dave Rivera is Bullying his commission and fixing the bids.
I saw one company had a HAUL RATE of 2.97 per house that is 50% cheaper than any other house rate in Broward.
Disposal is a PASS THRU and so is Franchise Fee’s Mr. Rivera. So all you should value a hauling contract is the HAULING.
Wake up Commission he is pulling the wool over your eyes…
August 26th, 2011 at 8:46 am
I heard that the City was supposed to hold a public meeting with each proposer, then at the last minute All Service complained and the city decided to hold the meetings indiviually in private and the public was shut out.
August 26th, 2011 at 10:05 am
If Creekinomics is correct about separate closed door meetings having been held, isnt this in violation of the intent, if not the letter, of the Sunshine laws? Do we now have a reason to fire the City Manager? What do you say, City Commission?
August 26th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Long time resident of Creek. Taxes just went up again. The City Commission has been flying under the radar for a long time and needs to be looked at. Dave Rivera has been ruining this city since he arrived. His police chief and deputy chief bully the employee’s and work under the good old girl/boy network. Please take the above comments to heart and check them out. Will be a good read for sure!
August 26th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
When elected, I’ll certainly get to the bottom of this whole thing – one city at a time.
August 27th, 2011 at 10:32 am
What would make a good read is the scam that Police Officer Anthony Avello has been running on the City of Coconut Creek. A 20 plus year patrolman with a high school diploma as his claim to fame. He is the police public information officer and as such receives 1 hour of compensation time at the rate of time and a half, every single day of every year. That amounts to 548 hours of compensation time or almost 14 weeks of paid time off. Then add in his 6 weeks of regular paid vacation and he is off with pay 20 weeks a year, that is 5 months off every year. Oh and by the way he makes $100,000.00 a year. Now that’s a scam.
August 29th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Do it right and good, Buddy! Call it like it is! Rivera is a manipulative control freak who will do anything to get his way. He consider the Commission an obstacle if they dare question him. The only one up there with true independent thought who is not a minion of Rivera is Lisa Aronson but without any support from her colleagues, she is swimming upstream all the time. You might as call Rivera by his real names: Pat Salerno, Jr. and Mike Levinson, Jr. for he exercises the same amount of “do not fuck with me, I am the boss” control and authority that those two did when they “ruled” their cities like Kings. Rivera, your Majesty is the way he needs to be saluted, by both you and me, Buddy, or we will be sent to the gallows!
August 29th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Stone Cold: I don’t know how you know Rivera as well as you do, but you are spot on. You are also right about Lisa Aronson having to struggle without support of fellow commissioners. River has to go! He is not a leader but a dictator, supported by a staff of higly paid toadies. His interest is in himself and in power, not in the city who pays him.
What is this guy costing us? According to his W-2 forms, in 2008-2010, the city paid him $279,162; $273,471 and $271,915. Plus annually he gets over $66,000 in fringe benefits, a $9,000 auto allowance and $500 in “deferred compensation.”
August 29th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Jean Dupuis is the employee you have to check. He was on the waste contract commitee and gave republic a 1 and Waste Pro a 4. He works in utilities and was drinking with republic guy named Eric, that was going to lose his job if republic lose the contract. This is very simple, ask the City Manager why an employee that works in utilities has to be involved in a waste contract? Mr. Rivera who are you kidding?.