Letter to the Editor 2, 2/24

To the Editor, I am writing in response to the Letter to the Editor from the board of the… To the Editor, I am writing in response to the Letter to the Editor from the board of the College Democrats that ran Friday, Feb. 20. Instead of admitting that the mayor’s decision to spend $252,500 on 250 trash cans was an instance of faulty decision-making, they chose to accuse others of making false accusations. According to a recent newspaper editorial [in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,] other cities such as Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Cincinnati recently spent $118, $323 and $500 respectively on similar public trash receptacles. Yet, the city of Pittsburgh chooses to spend over $1,000. Where is the logic in that? The ideal way to assure the best deal for taxpayers is to have companies bid on contracts. Yet, the Tribune-Review also reported that there was no competitive bidding in this process. To make things worse, the company replacing the trash cans, Recreation Resource Inc., is a supplier of Maryland-based Victor Stanley Inc. In short, not only do we pay more for trash cans than other cities, but our money is shipped to another state and doesn’t even benefit Pennsylvania workers. Give me a break. Dan Gore School of Arts and Sciences