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Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

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Letter to the Editor

Waste Pro, Columbia County's Carter Speaks: "Our word was our bond."

Waste Pro committed to Columbia County that we would exceed your expectations, if we were permitted to be your solid waste collection company. You trusted our commitment and we lived up to our words.

•  Waste Pro invested millions of dollars in our local operations and our new fleet of trucks.

•  Waste Pro hired more than 30 local residents to join our team and fuel our local million dollar payroll. The French company has suggested using half that labor force to support their operation.

•  Waste Pro contracted with dozens of local vendors for services, fuel, tires, supplies and services.

•  Waste Pro supported dozens of local charities and schools with money and volunteerism.

•  Waste Pro operates in 60 of Florida's sixty seven counties. We are a Florida owned and operated company. We are not an international conglomerate and we are not a public company. We are privately owned and are home town based.

Most of all, we served Columbia County staff and elected officials with rarely a complaint from those we served. Our word was our bond and it appears that was not enough. It also appears personal relationships have outweighed professional service. Our bid price was made public to our competitors, which as pointed out by one of your Commissioners is dead wrong.

We competed to keep our investment in equipment and local resident staff members and lost the contract on a County Commission spilt vote. We deeply appreciate the support from residents, county staff, and Commissioners for recognizing our capabilities and our ability to deliver.

We lost the garbage service not to the low bidder and not to a local firm. We are mad. We do not like losing, but we are passionate about what we do and feel compelled to speak up.

Additionally, we aren't the only Columbia County taxpayers to lose.

Unlike us, the ONLY Florida company to bid, foreign companies buy their supplies, trucks, equipment, parts, and services out of county, out of state, and sometimes out of this country. So, the funds in excess of $10 million that Waste Pro has previously spent to buy the aforementioned trucks, equipment, parts, and supplies from Columbia County businesses is now gone.

Gone also is the opportunity for further job creation that may have resulted from this contract continuing to be locally held.

Respectfully,

Frank Kramer

Regional Manager, Columbia County

This work by the Columbia County Observer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

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Link:
Columbia County votes to buy French, Throws FL based company under the bus.
(July 8, 2011)

 

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