Cape Coral settles remaining legal disputes with Waste Pro
Cape Coral is settling its remaining legal disputes with its garbage hauler, Waste Pro.
This year, Cape Coral's waste hauler, Waster Pro, sued the city asking the courts to cancel its contract, accusing it of withholding nearly $800,000 worth of payment.
Waste Pro has the sole contract for providing waste removal services for over 70,000 residential households.
Through mediation on May 15, the city and Waste Pro came to an agreement outlined in a memorandum of understanding, which the council approved in August.
Now through a final arbitration, the city will pay Waste Pro nearly $913,000 to put their issues to bed.
The council is set to vote and approve this agreement as a consent item on Wednesday.
Previous Coverage Cape Coral, Waste Pro headed to arbitration over withheld funding
Related Cape Coral explores taking over city's garbage service
Background on Waste Pro
Cape Coral entered into a contract with Waste Pro in April 2010, which is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2027.
In recent years, the city and the hauler have fought over missed trash pickups and assessment fees.
Last year, Waste Pro filed a lawsuit alleging a breach of its contract because the city did not pay the full amount Waste Pro claims was due for December 2021 for the collection of yard waste.
Waste Pro once again sued the city this year, which led to a memorandum of understanding after mediation.
Under those terms, approved in August, the city agreed to resolve all pending issues between them and assure each other that they would meet their obligations outlined in their contract for the remainder of the period.
The city agreed to reverse charges totaling $58,500 in administrative charges, waived a claim to thousands of carts and containers lost in Hurricane Ian from Waste Pro if FEMA didn't reimburse them, and guaranteed a rate increase at the rate equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index if the contractor requests it for any-and-all one-year periods between Oct. 1 of 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Both parties also agreed to mediate any future disagreement between them before any litigation and go to arbitration over withheld invoice payments and remaining administrative charges.
The city is also currently evaluating providing in-house garbage hauling services to residential and commercial customers throughout Cape Coral, but most council members seem opposed to the idea.
What understanding did they come to?
In the memorandum, the city and Waste Pro have agreed to resolve all pending issues between them and release each other and their affiliates from any claims, demands, causes of action, damage, cost, and obligations that they have asserted or could have asserted against each other in arbitration.
The parties agree that each will bear their attorneys' fees and costs.
The city is set to release $843,301.46, which are withheld invoices for September, October, and November 2022.
The documents said the parties agree and acknowledge these payments under the "Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters" of the contract, recognizing the extra services provided by the waste hauler removing post-hurricane Ian debris.
Both entities also agree to engage in "good faith" negotiations to clarify and modify certain contract sections, "Quality of Performance of the contract" and "Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters," within 30 days of lawsuit dismissal.
The city also agreed to resolve the remaining $22,250 in administrative charges by paying Waste Pro an additional $11,125.
Waste Pro now has received $69,625 for the administrative charges dispute, which has already been paid in full on Oct. 27.
Under the agreement, the lawsuit will dismissed within seven days of the release of the $843,301.46 invoice payment, which will be released on or before Dec. 31.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral and Waste Pro settlement to cost city over $900,000
