Photo by Whitehorse Star
Geoff Quinsey
Compost facility work granted to Tetra Tech
As the city continues expanding its compost collection program,
As the city continues expanding its compost collection program, Tetra Tech Canada Inc. will be working to ensure the expansion to the landfill’s compost facility moves forward as planned.
At Monday’s city council meeting, members voted to award a contract worth nearly $270,000 to Tetra Tech to oversee the compost facility’s planned growth.
The city is taking a phased-in approach to adding multi-residential and food service developments to compost collection. All are slated to be on the system by the end of 2020, necessitating upgrades to the compost facility.
The city began looking at the possibility in 2017. That year, a composting expert was hired to assess the city’s operations and recommend ways to deal with the program’s growth.
As Geoff Quinsey, the city’s manager of water and waste, noted in an earlier report to council:
“The proposed upgrade will add a gravel-surfaced curing/stockpile area north of the existing compost building, and create a new concrete-surfaced processing pad on the existing processing area footprint, including an embedded aeration system, along with structural, mechanical, and electrical upgrades to the site.
“In order to keep up with the growing volume of organic waste as a result of collection from food services, the new concrete pad will need to be constructed in 2019,” Quinsey’s report says.
Tetra and Morrison Hershfield Ltd. each submitted a proposal for the work.
Tetra came out on top through the evaluation, which looked at methodology and approach, past relevant experience and performance first before the fees and local preference were factored in.
The entire project is expected to cost $2.73 million. That includes the previous geotechnical work, the proposed contract and the construction, it was confirmed.
The contract for construction will come forward at a later date.
Before council voted in favour of awarding the contract, members questioned city officials.
They confirmed that those costs are outlined in the budget, with some funds coming out of money set aside in 2018, as well as the city’s share of gasoline tax funding.
Councillors Laura Cabott and Samson Hartland were absent from Monday’s meeting.
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Comments (5)
Up 4 Down 0
Boyd Campbell on Feb 4, 2019 at 4:33 pm
The consultant add on means only one thing. There is more stuff coming down the pipe and the bureaucrats don't want to wear it. Farm it out and pay a consulting firm a lot of money to take the heat and the associated blame. Very weak chicken s••t way to operate but with this amount of cash coming in as play money it has become the norm. You don't get away with this where money is tighter.
Up 5 Down 0
Just Sayin' on Feb 4, 2019 at 9:36 am
Typical Yukon, centuries behind. Instead of innovative methodologies to use our garbage (incinerator with steam generation to heat buildings, better sorting etc.), nope, let's higher a consultant and then a firm to do our work. That is the Yukon Way. .. do not innovate, just masterbate.
Up 12 Down 1
Boyd Campbell on Feb 1, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Now we have city recycling cops at the landfill watching as you unload construction materials etc. Ticket book in hand - 50 bucks for this - 50 bucks for that because you have an errant piece of metal mixed in with wood or whatever. Oh and by the way, if your trailer or vehicle of transport is not covered or tarped in, that's another 250 bucks going to the mansion on the hill. Hang on folks, it's just starting.
Up 8 Down 1
Steve on Feb 1, 2019 at 1:02 am
Whitehorse’ Alaskan neighbor, Skagway, is enacting a comprehensive composting program using an invessel composter. The equipment is inexpensive to purchase and operate. http://www.dt-environmental.com/enviro-drum.html
Whitehorse could buy 12 of these for the amount they are contracting. Why not reconsider?
Up 24 Down 4
My Opinion on Jan 29, 2019 at 5:16 pm
Why on earth does the City need to out source to an engineering firm a quarter of a MILLION DOLLAR contract to oversee? City has its own Management, Administrators, Engineers, what a bunch of GOOFS. What are they doing? Give it to them to deal with.