Firm to cap section of landfill

A $357,489 payment for about 40 days of work.

In a 5-0 vote, the Sarpy County Board on Tuesday hired Lessard Contracting of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, to cap off another section of the Sarpy County Landfill.

Under the terms of the contract, the Iowa company indicated it should be able to complete the job in about 40 days.

The company submitted the lowest of two bid proposals received by Sarpy County purchasing agent Beth Cunard. She also received a third bid that was incomplete.

County landfill manager DuWaine Brigman said he's worked with Lessard on several landfill contracts in the past and that the firm has done exceptional work at the site west of Springfield.

Brigman said the company essentially would shut down a 3.5-acre section of the landfill on its far west end. This marks the fifth time in the landfill's history that a section of the facility is being capped or closed off, he said.

“This contract,” Brigman said, “it pays for putting clay down, drainage nets, synthetic liners and placing fence,” among other things.

About $120,000 is earmarked in the company's contract for excavating and recompacting soil materials that encompass 30,000 cubic yards at the landfill.

The Sarpy County Landfill, just west of Nebraska Highway 50, is nearing the end of its useful life.

At current rates of usage, the landfill would run out of space by 2013 or 2014. The landfill still has about 40 acres available to dump trash, Brigman said.

Deputy County Administrator Scott Bovick said the county plans to spend more time over the next year planning for the landfill's likely closure. At this point, the county is leaning toward turning the current facility into a waste-transfer station, he said, rather than trying to expand the landfill onto adjacent, county-owned land.

In 2005, Sarpy and Cass Counties broke off discussions about becoming partners to share a new landfill site after residents in western Cass County fiercely opposed plans to place the landfill near them. Residents near the Springfield site also adamantly opposed any talks about keeping the landfill operating near their town.

Over the past couple of years, Sarpy County has spent several thousand dollars trying to address odor problems at the landfill that caused an awful stench to drift into the community.

“I think a transfer station is the most viable option at this point,” Bovick said. “We already have the staff expertise to manage it, and we have a location that is easily accessible, now and into the future.”

A waste-transfer station could remain profitable for the county, he said, just as the current landfill has been a major revenue producer.

“We would need to put a business plan together and identify potential partners,” Bovick said. “There are a lot of different ways to run a transfer station.”

Contact the writer:

444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com