FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Why Central did not have a pre-disaster debris removal contract in place in 2
Having a pre-disaster debris removal contract in place is an option, not a requirement.
Theoretically, with a pre-disaster contract, the contractors will be able to activate more quickly than they would be if there was no contract already in place . However, that is not always the case. For example, East Baton Rouge Parish had a pre-disaster contract for debris removal, yet Central’s debris removal contractor was activated and performing work prior to EBRP commencing its debris removal.
Significantly, though, a municipality is almost always at a cost advantage when it executes a contract post-disaster. “Typically, pre-disaster contracts are more costly than post-disaster contracts,” stated Brooks Wallace, president of Debris Tech, a company used by FEMA to exemplify its best practices.
Had the City extended its prior contract with Bergeron Emergency Services, as has been suggested, the flood of August 2016 would have cost the City and its citizens approximately $594,188.10 more than did the City’s current contract with CrowderGulf, as follows.
Construction and Demolition Debris
The City’s contract with CrowderGulf included a price of $11.75 per cubic yard for the loading, hauling, and disposing of construction and demolition debris (C&D). That amount included the disposal costs.
The City’s prior contract with Bergeron Emergency Services included a price of $7.25 per cubic yard for the C&D debris, but under that contract, the City was responsible for disposal costs, which was $5.50 per cubic yard. Combined, that amount would be a price of $12.75 per cubic yard.
Thus, for C&D debris, the City’s current contract rate with Crowder Gulf was $1.00 per cubic yard less expensive than the rate under the Bergeron Services contract.
Overall, Crowder Gulf removed 324,958.10 cubic yards of C&D debris. With the CrowderGulf contract in place, this amounted to a savings of $324,958.10 when compared to the Bergeron Emergency Services contract.
White Goods
The City’s contract with CrowderGulf included a price of $25.00 per unit for the loading, hauling, and disposing of white goods, i.e. appliances. By contrast, the City’s prior contract with Bergeron Emergency Services set that amount at $120.00 per unit.
Overall, Crowder Gulf transported 2,834 units of white goods, and thus, the City’s current contract with CrowderGulf was at least $269,230 less expensive for white goods than what the City would have been responsible for under the Bergeron Emergency Services contract.
Hazardous and Household Waste
The City’s contract with CrowderGulf included a price of $8.94 per pound for the loading, hauling, and disposing of hazardous and household waste (H&HW). Overall, CrowderGulf transported approximately 183,600 pounds of H&HW.
By contrast, the City’s prior contract with Bergeron Services did not include disposal of H&HW, and thus, that contract did not adequately serve the needs of the citizens of the City of Central for the flood of August 2016.