Debate over city’s compost contract (7/7/2021)
A recent decision by the city of Winona on who gets paid to dispose of residents’ dead trees and brush has rustled up controversy.
At its June 21 meeting, the City Council chose to award the contract for operating the city’s tree and brush dump site to Today’s Tree Service out of La Crosse, Wis. The city received four bids: Exceed Tree Service, $43,000; Today’s Tree Service, $48,000; The Winona Farm, $49,500; and Minnesota Wood Recyclers, $55,000.
The controversy stems from the fact that for 30 years prior to Today’s Tree Service being awarded the contract, the dump site had been operated by the Reed family, which owns Reed’s Tree Service. For the first time, the city decided to open up the contract renewal to a competitive bid process, meaning that the Reeds doing business as Minnesota Wood Recyclers (MWR) would have to present a more attractive bid than three other firms who turned in p