HOLYOKE – The City’s Board of Public Works on Monday, July 29, voted 2-1 to ask Mayor Joshua A. Garcia to invite proposals from companies interested in taking charge of Holyoke’s wastewater treatment services.
The existing 20-year contract expires September 29, 2025. The City has never switched contractors since its initial contract with Aquarion Water Co. Aquarion was succeeded by United Water Resources, which was succeeded by Suez Water Inc., which was acquired by Veolia.
Representatives of Veolia, present at Monday’s meeting, said they would bid on the new contract.
DPW Board Chair Mary L. Monahan read a statement at Monday’s meeting saying that opening up a competitive procurement process “is not a reflection on the performance of Veolia, the current contractor. In fact, I look forward to seeing Veolia’s submission in response to the RFP [Request for Proposals].”
She said she was interested in seeing “how our next long-term service agreement can incorporate technologies that generate green power, advance the City’s economic development initiatives, and generate revenue.”
Mayor Garcia said he felt the same way.
“We’ll be looking proposals through a ‘green’ lens, both in terms of energy generation and the waste stream,” he said. “Wastewater management is a huge responsibility that I, as Mayor, take very seriously. We have to be certain that our systems are state of the art.”
Holyoke’s annual wastewater service fee for Fiscal 2024 is an estimated $7.3 million. The final billing is affected by sewer breaks and other factors that could add to the final bill.
Eighteen months ago, as the end of its 20-year contract for services approached, Monahan and Mayor Garcia collaborated to appoint an ad hoc committee of volunteers to explore two options: extend the contract with Veolia or open it up for bids. Ad hoc committee members were Andy Fiske, Brian Beauregard, Mike Sullivan, Mimi Panitch, and DPW Director Carl Rossi.
At Monday’s meeting, Beauregard read a statement describing the ad hoc committee’s mission and research.
“It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this matter,” Beauregard read. “Sanitation and handling of waste are among the most fundamental of all urban infrastructure. Always critically important, the challenges it presents have only grown as our society’s technological sophistication has increased, and our understanding of the health risks of industrial activities in the past has improved. With our new understanding has come emerging demands, such as the new requirement that wastewater systems address so-called “forever” chemicals in our waste streams. ”
Beauregard underscored Monahan’s statement that seeking a range of aspiring operators doesn’t mean Veolia would be replaced. He said the committee’s “recommendation is not intended to imply any criticism of that operator or the excellent staff the City now works with.”
Nevertheless, he continued, “We believe this contract would attract significant interest from most or all of the industry’s most important and technologically sophisticated firms, and it would thus allow Holyoke to learn from, and to compare proposals from, a multitude of experts in the field.”
DPW Board member Joseph Kietner made the motion to recommend an RFP. Member Libby Hernandez seconded the motion. Kietner and Monahan voted in favor, Hernandez opposed.