Kenner residents will spend more on new garbage contract after change in company - NOLA.com

Kenner residents will spend more on new garbage contract after change in company | Jefferson Parish | nola.com

With IV Waste ending garbage service at the end of February, the Kenner City Council on Thursday signed off on a new contract with Waste Pro of Louisiana that will cost residents and small businesses in the city an extra $4.72 a month.

Waste Pro will begin twice-a-week trash pick-up in Kenner on March 1 and is expected to deliver new garbage carts to customers as early as next week.

The Kenner City Council voted unanimously to approve the 10-year, non-exclusive contract despite a furious public relations campaign in recent weeks by IV Waste’s owner, Sidney Torres, who sought to paint the agreement as fiscally irresponsible.

Even with the cost increase, however, Mayor Michael Glaser argued that the contract is a good deal for Kenner.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kenner customers will pay $18 per month for Waste Pro’s services — a 35% increase from the rate of $13.28 that IV Waste is currently charging.

Still, Glaser noted, Waste Pro’s rate, which is locked in for the next decade, is far lower than what surrounding municipalities are paying. Residents in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, for instance, are paying $25.20 per month for similar service.

Kenner was forced to find a new hauler after Torres gave notice in November that IV Waste would stop collecting garbage after Feb. 29, citing a contract clause that allows it to terminate its agreement for lack of timely payments.

Torres' exit came after a tumultuous year and a half, during which negotiations over payments broke down, spawning a web of lawsuits. Each side claims it's owed millions of dollars by the other, and a court case is ongoing.

Glaser said in an interview that Kenner first explored turning to Ramelli Janitorial Services, which had two years left on a trash-hauling contract that had essentially sat dormant since 2020, when IV Waste took over.

But there was a hiccup, Glaser said: Some of the cans Ramelli had purchased and delivered as part of its contract obligations had been damaged when they were picked up. It was unclear how much it would cost Kenner to replace those cans.

A few days later, at the request of Kyle France, a consultant for Waste Pro, Glaser met with Jesse Murphy, a lifelong Kenner resident and Waste Pro’s regional vice president, about taking over the trash contract. As part of the offer, Waste Pro agreed to purchase new cans and turn them over to the city once the contract ends.

Glaser said he asked River Birch Renewable, which handles garbage pick-up in Jefferson Parish, if it could offer a more competitive rate, but “when they heard $18, the conversation went to, ‘What do you want for lunch?'”

The agreement with Waste Pro is non-exclusive, which means the city can hire another garbage contractor at its discretion. If that happens within the first five years, however, Kenner would be on the hook for Waste Pro's depreciation expenses.

With Thursday’s vote, Kenner now technically has three garbage hauling contracts in place, though by March, Waste Pro will be the only firm paid for trash pick-up.

The City Council and then-Mayor Ben Zahn awarded IV Waste a 10-year, non-exclusive contract to collect garbage and recyclables in 2020, after cutting off Ramelli.

After taking office in July 2022, Glaser’s administration scrutinized IV Waste’s invoices and in January 2023, Kenner told Torres it would no longer pay his firm to handle recycling, sparking the legal battle.

Kenner later turned to Ramelli to take over recycling, a move Torres has argued was politically motivated, given Ramelli’s support for Glaser in his mayoral election against Zahn. Glaser has said that’s bunk and that IV Waste’s invoices were “polluted by egregious overcharges.”

Torres has said he has no interest in Kenner’s garbage hauling contract, though in the weeks leading up to Thursday’s meeting, he unleashed a torrent of television and direct mail advertisements attacking Kenner officials and the Waste Pro contract.

In a mass text sent to Kenner residents, Torres publicized a poll conducted by Baton Rouge-based pollster John Couvillon of 350 likely voters which found broad support for IV Waste. Torres also sought to tie the Waste Pro agreement to former Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni.

At Thursday’s meeting, Murphy said, “Mike Yenni has worked for Waste Pro in the past selling roll-off or commercial containers … He has nothing to do with municipal contracts.”

Waste Pro, which is headquartered in Florida, is the largest privately-owned waste company in the U.S., Murphy said. It currently handles garbage pick-up in New Orleans East and St. John the Baptist Parish.

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, IV Waste issued a statement vowing to take “appropriate legal action to defend the truth” and the firm’s “hard-earned reputation for quality service” if Glaser or council members make “any further false or defamatory statements.”

At Thursday’s meeting, Glaser quipped, “I’m sure I’m going to get a defamation letter.”