水果派AV

The Auburn City Council on Tuesday awarded a three-year contract to Vermont-based Casella Waste Management for landfill disposal services. The city will pay $612,500 a year, according to the terms, and the trash will be transported to Casella's landfill in Ontario County.

The city received two bids from upstate New York landfills 鈥� Casella and Waste Management in West Seneca. Casella was the lowest bidder, with prices of $49 a ton for the first three years. It would increase to $51.45 in the fourth year and $54.02 a ton in the fifth year, if the city exercises its options to extend the contract.聽

Waste Management's bid started at $51 a ton in the first year, with annual increases over the remaining four years of the contractual period. By the final year of the contract, it would've cost $61.99 a ton for landfill disposal services.

Mike Talbot, the city's superintendent of public works, told the council that the city has an existing relationship with Casella. The company offers collection services in the city, he explained, and it handles the city's recycling material. Casella, he said, is a "reputable firm."

"We're familiar with their site and their company," he said.

When the city closed its landfill in 2020, it began shipping its trash to Seneca Meadows in neighboring Seneca County. Seneca Meadows had a three-year contract to provide landfill disposal services for the city, with two one-year options that the city exercised.

Seneca Meadows did not respond to the request for proposals issued by the city. The materials were sent to the company, according to Talbot, but they did not submit a bid due to an oversight.

Although the costs associated with landfill disposal services are hefty, Talbot explained that it would've been more expensive to keep the city's landfill open. He noted that it could've cost roughly $20 million to add another eight to 10 years of life at the landfill. It was also challenging for the city, which operated a smaller landfill, to compete against larger landfills that could charge cheaper rates, he said.

Changing environmental regulations were also a concern.

"It was the right decision," Talbot said of the landfill closure.

In other news

鈥� The city will lease two new refuse collection vehicles, or garbage trucks, after councilors approved a resolution Thursday.

The city received three leasing or loan options. Webster-based Real Lease offered an interest rate of 5.16% for a total of $603,364.05 for the two vehicles, while Troy-based Sun First offered a 5.97% interest rate for a total cost of $607,706.15.

The lowest quote was from Tompkins Trust Company in Auburn. The cost will be $592,009 with an interest rate of 5.21%.

Auburn City Comptroller Mary Beth Leeson explained that leasing is a better option than bonding because it allows for a shorter term. She credited Tompkins Trust Company for finding ways to "save a little bit of money."

The garbage trucks are part of the city's capital improvement plan. It will take a few years before the trucks are in use. Talbot said they have to place an order with the manufacturer and the process of building out the trucks can take up to three years.