By Howard Owens
Fathead minnows as a source of municipal revenue.
Who knew? Well, those at the city of Batavia’s wastewater treatment facility apparently did, and a request for bids to harvest the little guys was reeled in by two takers.
The highest bid submitted by Ray Daniels, however, required a non-collusive bidding certification and that was not signed, City Attorney George Van Nest said Monday.
“Mr. Daniels wrote a letter complaining about not being awarded the bid. However, I corresponded with him and identified that two pages were required for the bid. First Page was the financial offer … The second was the non-collusive bidding form, which is required under General Municipal Law Section 103 P. He did not complete that when he submitted his bid; therefore, his bid cannot be considered," Van Nest said during City Council’s business meeting at City Hall. “Just want to make that clear for council.”
Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. reiterated the attorney’s point that it’s “very important … to make sure that all paperwork is complete.”
“And maybe check with someone who knows how to do it to make sure you get it right because it’s unfortunate,” he said. “But technically, we can’t allow this.”
The next highest bidder was a A-1 Bait Supply of Niagara Falls, with a bid of $28,000 and the option of two additional years: years two at $30,000 and year three at $40,000.
Harvesting will occur at the wastewater treatment facility at 5 Treadeasy Ave. in Batavia.
Jankowski and Council member Bob Bialkowski lauded the sale. Bialkowski said the city invests a lot of money into the facility, including chemicals, treatments, and lime sludge removal.
“And we do get some return on the money,” he said. “I mean, this contract works just under $100,000 over three years. So it is a substantial amount of money to sell these.”
The minnows can end up as bait for sportsmen in the area, so “it gets recycled into recreation and various other activities for people even in the area,” Jankowski added. “So it’s kind of a nice cycle of events that take place to allow us to get some of the money back.”
City Council approved it with a unanimous yes vote from members Bob Bialkowski, Rich Richmond, Eugene Jankowski, Derek Geib, Kathy Briggs, David Twichell, Al McGinnis, and Tammy Schmidt. Council member Paul Viele was absent.
Previously: Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of city's hidden treasures
By Howard Owens
