With transfer station imminent, landfill board must adapt to state policies
The Conditional Use Permit for the transfer station has been passed with little opposition from the Carbon County Planning Commission, according to Upper Platte River Solid Waste District (UPRSWD) board chairperson Randy Raymer.
Craig Kopasz, of Engineering Associates, was present at the Jan. 6 meeting to present updates on the transfer station and the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) application for funding. According to Kopasz, the possible policy of total project funding for populations under 4,000 is unlikely to happen. A new policy of 90 percent total project funding might make it through the legislature, Kopasz said, but for now the application will have to be for a maximum of 75 percent total project funding, leaving UPRSWD to make up the remaining 25 percent. The project is projected to cost $1.5 million.
However, Kopasz said that should funding policies change, there will be a possibility to go in and amend the application. Raymer and Kopasz discussed the possibility of applying for more funding once more when new legislation takes effect on July 1. Right now, the board must act as if they will have to come up with 25 percent of the total project funding, although it is possible that things could change. The SLIB application was due last Friday, and all items requiring signatures to move forward have been signed. It has been recommended that UPRSWD call the legislators.
The budgeting process for the next several years is underway, as the closure of the landfill is projected by Kopasz to occur in 2020.
At the Dec. 2, 2015 UPRSWD meeting, the board members moved to send out letters requesting bids for portable toilet services. However, upon reflection it was determined that the action was not appropriate considering current contractual obligations. The contracts normally last three years, according to Raymer, but they have been extended in one year increments for the past three years while UPRSWD determines changes caused by the construction of the transfer station. At this time, UPRSWD is in the middle of their fiscal year and will not consider contractual changes.
The next UPRSWD meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., Feb. 3 at Saratoga Town Hall.
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