Commissioners commit to landfill building project

Tammy Helm/Tribune photo Bourbon County Attorney Justin Meeks, left, talks Tuesday about whether a construction contract should be signed for a transfer station at the county landfill. Pictured with Meeks are, from left, Third District Commissioner Harold Coleman, Commission Chair Barbara Albright and First District Commissioner Lynne Oharah.

ard with the construction of a new solid waste transfer station at the Bourbon County landfill was made Wednesday.

During a special meeting Wednesday, Bourbon County Commissioners signed a contract with Holmes Center Contractors of Pittsburg, which submitted a bid for $348,850, which was more than the commissioners had planned to spend on the project.

Before awarding the bid to HCC, commissioners met with Frank Young, engineer with Agricultural Engineering of Uniontown, who is working with the county on the project. He recommended awarding the bid to HCC with change orders that would reduce the cost to about $285,000. The change orders would eliminate finishing the office area of the building and moving the scales.

Although the commissioners awarded the bid to HCC, the deal was not official until the construction contract was signed Wednesday. Commissioners had been reluctant to sign the contract, which would bind them to the project, because they have not been certain where the money will come from to pay for the project -- even at the lesser cost.

Young has been encouraging them to make a decision. He has told commissioners that after they gave notice to award the bid, the company had 10 days to obtain a bond and the county had 10 days to sign the contract. After that, the bid price would not be guaranteed. The commissioners voted to give notice to award the bid on May 12.

Commissioners had been delaying signing the contract until a decision could be made on funding sources for the landfill and the project. Although the landfill falls under supervision of Public Works, it is supposed to be self-sustaining and is not supported by tax dollars.

Since then, the commissioners have had several lengthy discussions about the sustainability of the landfill and whether to sign the contract.

On Wednesday, Albright and County Attorney Justin Meeks met with Fort Scott city officials, who also have been having discussions about how to handle residential garbage. Albright and Meeks agreed the meeting "went really well."

"At this time (signing the contract) is a smart move," Albright said.

"It's beneficial for the entire county, including the city of Fort Scott," Meeks said. "It will be a long progression, but I think it's going to work out."

Commissioners have yet to pin down funding for the project. Albright said they will look at bonds, private funding, increasing the gate fees or possibly a mill levy increase. Meeks said the city might be able to increase usage of the landfill.

Commissioners said Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin is on the county commissioner meeting agenda for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Need for the building

"We still have a gamble going, in that if the hopper goes down, we're had," Meeks said. "We've got to hold it together for six months or a year."

The transfer station building will replace the county's aging hopper. A little more than a year ago, a replacement hopper was located in Canada, but buying and transporting the replacement hopper to Bourbon County was estimated to cost nearly $200,000.