The Orange Grove Center will need to find new places for dozens of disabled employees to work in the new year after the city of Chattanooga opted not to renew its contract with the nonprofit.
Orange Grove, which provides employment support, group homes and other resources for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, has partnered with the city since the 1990s for recycling work. Currently, the city contracts with the nonprofit for the management and staffing of its recycling and refuse collection centers.
But city officials confirmed they don’t plan to do a standard renewal of the nonprofit’s contract. Instead, the Public Works Department will soon open up a contract bidding process for the work, which Orange Grove will be able to participate in.
The move could mean the end of a decades-long partnership between Orange Grove and the city.