LEWISTON — City operations around the landfill will be consolidated, according to a contract change with Casella Solid Waste that councilors will see Tuesday.
City Administrator Ed Barrett said the city would move its recycling storage away from Casella’s planned single stream recycling operation and on to a new building the company would construct.
The city’s landfill offices would be in that building as well.
“They will build a separate building for us, and that makes that site neater and cleaner,” Barrett said. “They would also relocate our office building there. All of our operations would be clustered in one area — the gatehouse, our office building and our materials storage would all be right there.”
Councilors are scheduled to vote on the proposed change at their meeting at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
“It’s actually preferable in that it puts all of our operations together in one location so it’s easier for us to manage,” Barrett said. “Second, it eliminates some of the complications that arise in the lease. We’re not leasing a part of the property to the company and then subleasing a section of it back. It just makes everything neater and cleaner for both parties.”
Barrett said the solid waste company is still on schedule to begin construction of the automated recycling facility on River Road next February.
The solid waste company plans to build the 15,000-square-foot automated recycling center south of the city’s landfill at the city’s transfer station on River Road this summer. The facility would replace the city’s current recycling shed.
The center would take recycling collected from communities in Maine, sort it and sell it on the commodities market.
According to the terms of the 20-year lease, the city would keep ownership of the land, the recycling building and all machines Casella installs. The company would pay the city $5,638 per month — $67,656 per year — in addition to an entry fee of $5 per truck. The company would also pay the city a fee on every truck using the facility and would take over $90,000 worth of city recycling responsibilities. City staff estimates the facility will bring in $250,000 in new revenues or savings for the city.
It’s the second time the city has amended the contract since it was first approved in January. Councilors agreed in February to give the company a year to begin construction. The original lease called for construction to begin 10 months after the lease was signed, but company officials said they needed more time to clear state regulatory hurdles.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
