Diana Stricker Photo
L-R:David Perrotti and Paul Santa Barbara.
A new trash collection company based in Clinton will be taking over the three-year contract that Branford awarded to Waste Tech Family Refuse LLC two years ago. However, it appears that Waste Tech personnel will still be collecting trash for the coming year.
The Board of Selectman (BOS) unanimously approved a motion Wednesday to assign the Waste Tech contract to Hometown Waste LLC, owned by David Perrotti. The action is subject to further review by Town Attorney Bill Aniskovich. The BOS met for about thirty minutes last night at Fire Headquarters.
First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said Paul Santa Barbara, who owns the Branford-based Waste Tech, asked that the contract be assigned to Hometown Waste. Cosgrove said the current terms of the contract will continue the same, and that Santa Barbara will stay on for a year to oversee operations in Branford. Cosgrove said Waste Tech is being sold but Santa Barbara would provide no details when asked by the Eagle.
The contract signed in 2103 was for three years with two options for one-year extensions. Click here to read the story.
Solid Waste Management Commission Not Informed
However, Paul Muniz, who heads the town’s Solid Waste Management Commission (SWMC), asked why the commission knew nothing about the change of companies. “I do have a couple concerns,” he said.
Muniz said the SWMC reviews all contracts pertaining to trash removal. “We have no knowledge of the conditions under which this assignment would take place,” he told the selectmen. “We don’t know any details about the potential assignment.”
Muniz said the commission could review the proposal before its July 8 meeting, and report back to the BOS. (That offer was not accepted.) Muniz said right now the commission knows nothing about Hometown Waste. “What’s their service record? What towns do they serve? How long they’ve been is business?
Cosgrove said the SWMC made the original recommendation for the contract two years ago, and that the terms of the contract will remain the same. “That contract is essentially staying intact,” Cosgrove told Muniz. “The terms and conditions are staying the same.”
Santa Barbara said Hometown Waste is a family-owned business that has been operating longer than Waste Tech has, and they have double the fleet of trucks and serve many municipalities.
“I’m going to continue to do as I do now, and oversee the contract,” Santa Barbara said, adding that it will be the “same drivers, same trucks” that are currently serving Branford.
David Perrotti, one of the owners of Hometown Waste, said there will absolutely be no change — that it will be the same trucks, same routes, and same collection days that are currently in place.
Cosgrove said town attorney Bill Aniskovich; and Dan McGowan, the town’s waste management supervisor, have been reviewing the details of the contract assignment. Aniskovich did not attend the meeting.
Third Selectman Bruce Storm asked why the Solid Waste Management Commission, which oversees trash policies, had no input.
“This is something that just came forward in the past couple weeks,” Cosgrove replied. He said the commission is advisory to the BOS and that they vetted the original contract two years ago.
“It just seems like there’s a little miscommunication,” Storm said.
Diana Stricker Photo
Board of Selectmen
All three members of the BOS voted in favor of assigning the contract to Hometown Waste.
After the meeting, Eagle asked Santa Barbara if he’s selling Waste Tech to Hometown Waste, and he said no. When asked for further details about the new assignment, Santa Barbara said he would not answer any questions.
Perrotti, who was wearing a uniform shirt bearing the name Sweitzer, told the Eagle that Sweitzer Waste Removal is another business name of the Hometown Waste company. He said they serve towns from Old Lyme to Westport.
According to state corporation records, Hometown Waste LLC has a business address off 40 Nod Road in Clinton, and the main principals of the company are Frank Perrotti Jr. of Hamden; and David Perrotti of Clinton. Sweitzer Waste Removal Inc. has the same business address. The principals are Dale Sweitzer and Scott Sweitzer, both of Madison.
Companies Clash Two Years Ago
When the trash collection contract went out for bid two years ago, Waste Tech Family Refuse LLC was the low-bidder. The BOS was poised to award the contract when objections were raised by the previous company, National Carting Co., which had served the town for about 20 years.
National Carting owner David Parzych in 2013 told the BOS that the bid that Waste Tech made was unrealistic and that the job couldn’t be done at that cost. “These numbers just don’t add up to me,” he said at the time.
National Carting’s attorney Anthony DiCrosta, of DiCrosta & Rigat in New Haven, told the BOS that his client was concerned because Waste Tech did not have enough experience in municipal trash pick-up.
Waste Tech’s attorney Andrew Cellemme, of Cellemme Law LLC in Waterford, said his client had more than 20 years experience. “This is a financially stable company,” he told the BOS at that time.
Santa Barbara told the BOS in 2013 that he was operating 12 refuse trucks throughout the state and had substantial experience. “I know the industry well,” he said at the time.
Anthony “Unk” DaRos, then first selectman, delayed voting on the contract until it was reviewed by town attorney William Clendenin Jr. The contract was eventually approved by a 2 – 1 vote with a no-vote by Cosgrove, who was third selectman at the time. Cosgrove said then that he voted against Waste Tech because he felt the company did not have enough experience compared to National Carting.
The three-year contract, which began July 1, 2013, covers the weekly curbside collection of garbage and recyclables from 9,500 households for three years, with the option of two additional one-year extensions.
Waste Tech’s bid for three years totaled $2,055,000 million; and National Carting’s bid for three years was $2,734,612. That equated to a difference of $679,612 over three years. There were no other bidders at that time.
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