The drama surrounding the recycling proposal for Shreveport is heating up again. The woman who owns C. Edwards Concepts has sent a letter to Mayor Adrian Perkins indicating she is planning to sue the city.

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Who Got the Letter from Charlette Edwards?

Edwards also sent the letter to Councilman John Nickelson who led the effort to require a surety bond for the recycling contract. C. Edwards Concepts was the only bidder for the city's recycling program. The price tag in her bid was $1.9 million a year over 5 years. She copied the City Attorney, the Public Works Director, all Council members and some members of the media.

Edwards told the council last year she had no trucks and no employees and also did not have a headquarters for her operation. But she told the members she would ramp up quickly and get the program going.

But Councilman Nickelson pushed for a performance bond to be included in this contract. Edwards never purchased a surety bond. There were efforts to lift that requirement last month, but that effort failed.

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What Are the Claims Made by Edwards?

In the letter, Edwards claims the council approved the surety bond because of her "race, gender and color." She calls it "an "impermissible amendment." She also says this whole mess has caused her "anxiety, sleep problems and stress related hair loss." She says the city was already "protected by the termination for cause."

In the letter, Edwards also claims "the systemic racism, gender prejudice and skin tone discrimination of the City of Shreveport and Councilman John Nickelson could not and would not allow them to accept the knowledge skills and abilities of this minority female business owner as adequate to satisfy the requirements of a Request for Proposal that was re-advertised to meet the needs of recycling in the City of Shreveport, although it was the ONLY applicant to satisfactorily respond to the Request for Proposals.

She is planning to sue "for the full amount of the nearly $10 million dollar, 5-year contract.

Councilman John Nickelson tells KEEL News he is incredibly disappointed that Edwards has played the race card in this dispute. He says the city will likely have to spend more than $100,000 just to defend this lawsuit, if one is filed.

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