Barre Select Board Votes to Rebid Transfer Station Contract Over Procurement Compliance Issue

BARRE — February 21, 2018 — Barre Select Board votes to rebid transfer station contract after state procurement ruling bars extension. The board voted unanimously at its February 21 meeting to issue a new request for proposals for transfer station operations after a town official told members that the Massachusetts Inspector General's March 2012 bulletin — Volume 18, Issue 1 — determined the town's existing arrangement does not qualify for a Chapter 30B exemption that would have allowed multi-year contract extensions without prior town meeting approval. The new contract structure will be one year with up to two additional one-year renewal options at the town's sole discretion, keeping the arrangement within statutory limits. A resident with a background in the waste industry described the current zero-cost-to-the-town model, in which the vendor collects all bag fees, sticker fees, and recyclables revenue, as "a no-brainer" for taxpayers. Officials said the current contract expires in roughly two months and that the existing contractor had not yet been notified of the rebid decision.