By: Ray King
Mayor Vivian Flowers on Monday pulled a resolution authorizing her to sign a contract with CARDS Holdings so that council members can get more information on the legal ramifications of the city’s contract policies.
CARDS received the highest score among companies biding for the new contract to pick up garbage in Pine Bluff. The current contract with Waste Management expires Oct. 31.
City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott and Economic and Community Development Director Larry Matthews both explained state statutes dealing with contracts and Flowers talked about what they said.
Hadden-Scott told the council that if they reject CARDS, they have to move to the second rated choice and evaluate them before they can move to the proposal from Waste Management, which finished third.
Here’s how Hadden-Scott explained it.
Matthews told the council that he had not planned to attend the meeting but changed his mind so that he could explain how the process works in the city making requests for proposals or requests for qualifications.
Council members Bruce Lockett and LaTisha Brunson were not present for the meeting and Flowers had to cast the sixth vote on the only other item on the agenda, an ordinance approving the application of Visonz to open a private club at 201 Main Street and an emergency clause so that the ordinance is in effect immediately.
The Mayor said she will call another meeting, possibly Wednesday, to again consider the contract.
