Tenders are now closed for 7 Mile Landfill and Recycling operations. The regional district started the contract bidding a few months ago, which Steelhead Enterprises was then awarded the contract for operating the landfill at the end of October.
Four tender packages were purchased according to the regional district’s Oct. 22 report. The four applicants attended a pre-bid meeting on Oct. 11, but only one submission was received by the deadline. In Steelhead’s prior contract, the day-to-day operations were estimated to cost around $208,000. Now, the contract has grown to $247,000. The difference from the 2014 tender, including costs from adjusted rates, totals an 18.4 per cent increase, according to an analysis done by Patrick Donaghy, manager of operations.
The company also included in its tender converted rates in what may be a typical year, where they managed 7,500 tonnes of waste, 200 tonnes of metal, 1,300 of biosolids, according to the special report.
The Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) stated in its report that because of the company’s “consistent high quality of service provided … for the past 15 years, the Manager of Operations is of the opinion that the Steelhead Enterprises tender represents good value.” The manager then recommended awarding the contract to the company from 2019 to 2021, with an option of a two-year extension.
In an email correspondence about the 7 Mile Landfill and Recycling, the RDMW’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Greg Fletcher stated that “the Regional Solid Waste Service is partly funded by property taxes applied to all properties within the RDMW (including the 4 member municipalities).”
“In 2002, $560,945 was requisitioned from this source,” he added. “In 2018, the tax levy was $549,900. Five First Nations also contribute a levy directly proportional to these amounts (based on their share of the total population served) which combined, amounted to an additional $117,900 in 2018. Other revenues include tipping fees, soil remediation fees, recycling material sales and product stewardship fees.”
Fletcher then mentioned that the regional district has also “made steady progress in diverting waste by composting and recycling,” he added, however, that they “are barely keeping up with the additional waste generated by increased consumption.”