Cantrell’s decision to cancel IV Waste’s French Quarter trash collection contract has been met with broad criticism and confusion, with many calling it a breach of power by Cantrell to hand-deliver the contract to Troy Henry.
Sidney Torres, owner of IV Waste, joined WWL to share his thoughts on the mayor's decision to cancel the contract with his company.
“It’s all littered with politics,” said Torres on WWL First News with Tommy Tucker. “Oliver Thomas is pushing Troy Henry, that’s the bottom line.”
Torres explains that part of the baffling nature of this decision is that the city agreed to an emergency contract with IV Waste after negotiations fell through with Troy Henry and the city council denied his contract.
“There’s no reason to change this, it’s absolutely insane," says Torres. "When the original bid was in, Troy Henry changed his price — five, six hundred thousand dollars more— after the grading was done, after they awarded him the contract…Then you know, the council came back and said we don't like this.”
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Torres says his issue has less to do with being denied a contract or any beef with Troy Henry. Rather, he takes issue with how bluntly and carelessly the city went about canceling the contract, given he feels his company is better suited to handle FQ trash collection than Henry Consulting, which relies on facilitating a handful of third-party providers instead of owning any equipment.
“It’s really not even about him... It's just the way they went about it, sending a letter to me and canceling it five months before the actual contract ended,” says Torres. “ Let's redo the specs. Whether you go with IV or not, redo the specs to match the level of equipment, the level of service. Then put it out to bid so you get the right person with the right equipment.”
French Quarter residents and businesses have expressed positive feedback on IV Waste’s handling of trash collection, and Torres explains that’s part of why he felt so blindsided by the cancellation.
“I knew the ninety-day cancellation could be put into effect,” says Torres. “But I never thought in a million years that it would be because we're doing a great job. We have a million and a half dollars worth of equipment that I bought and put in there and made it to where it looks like today. You can’t clean the French Quarter unless you have the right tools to clean the French Quarter.”
Torres states that, however you look at it, Henry doesn’t have those tools.
“They were hiring a subcontractor to pick up the garbage from Monroe,” says Torres. “So he was basically going to be the middleman…There's a big difference when you don't own it..It’s just not the way to do it. You've got to own."
“The French Quarter is very small, but it's very important," Torres continues. "It's the cash register for the city and the state. The amount of revenue that it generates tax-dollar-wise for the city and state is unbelievable."
So, where do things go from here? Cantrell moved to end IV Waste’s contract, which would officially expire on July 30th.
Troy Henry has already made statements claiming to have a finalized contract. However, members of the New Orleans City Council are making clear that those statements are false. While the city stated that Henry Consulting will take over FQ trash duties come August 1st, there is no valid contract until the council signs off.
City Councilmember JP Morrell stated on the Newell Normand show that Henry has no contract, calling the attempts by Henry and the mayor to make it seem as if the future of FQ garbage collection is set in stone an “Epic level of gaslighting.”
As of Monday morning, it looks like the council will take Cantrell to court, claiming her administration improperly allowed Henry Consulting to amend its bid.
Torres also concluded the interview by saying, “I can't share too much, but I know there's things going on…This is not over.”
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