French Quarter board seeks emergency trash hauler for Vieux Carré under new state law

French Quarter leaders are seeking an emergency trash hauler to keep the historic neighborhood clean, flexing its newfound authority over sanitation contracting thanks to a state law approved in June.

The request for proposals issued Monday by the French Quarter Management District, a state-created board, is the latest maneuver in an on-going power struggle over the future of trash pickup in the Vieux Carré. The battle has pitted state leaders, City Council members and neighborhood property owners against Mayor LaToya Cantrell. 

The solicitation comes after Louisiana lawmakers approved a bill in June, with the support of council members, allowing the 13-member board to secure “emergency contracts” for sanitation services when city government fails to provide those services in the neighborhood. The city would have to repay the board for the work. A spokesperson for the Cantrell administration did not respond Monday to a request for comment. 

State Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, drafted the legislation as a stopgap to make sure the tourist hub doesn’t go without sanitation services after July 31, when the administration is set to terminate an emergency contract with IV Waste, the firm currently picking up trash in the Quarter.

The Cantrell administration has entered a long-term contract with another firm, Henry Consulting, to take over on Aug. 1. But residents and business owners have rallied around IV Waste in recent months, and an ongoing legal battle over the city’s contract with Henry Consulting is unlikely to be resolved by then.

The French Quarter Management District is requesting submissions from interested companies by July 18, and will select a contractor on July 28 with services to begin on Aug. 1.

According to the request for proposals, which is separate from the city’s standard bid process, the FQMD will evaluate contractors based on “specialized experience and technical competence, including specialized equipment specific to the French Quarter” along with “performance history.” The board is not required to choose the lowest bidder but rather the bidder that provides the “highest and best value to FQMD.”

The contract will last “until such time as the city resumes service through its own employees or pursuant to a lawfully procured and executed contract.”

The solicitation states that the contractor will conduct regular trash pickup, street sweeping, and pressure washing using a “lemon fresh cleaning solution, a hallmark of IV Waste’s services. 

“We are 100% bidding on it and will be ready if we’re chosen, as we already have the equipment on the streets working,” said Sidney Torres IV, owner of IV Waste. 

Torres added, though, that he hopes “the mayor reconsiders” and allows the company to continue under its existing contract, “so that we don’t have to go through changing contracts.”

“It would be a much smoother and easier process,” Torres said.

Troy Henry, owner of Henry Consulting, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.