Council unable to finish out landfill project

The Sundance City Council was not able to put the finishing touches on the landfill closure project last week due to a delay in resolving the finances. Negotiations are ongoing regarding a remobilization fee “far exceeding” what the Department of Environmental Quality is willing to fund, said Jeff Young of Trihydro on Tuesday.

Young had originally wanted to complete the project from a financial standpoint, but discussion was ongoing at the time of the meeting between the DEQ, contractors and city engineers. On the other hand, he said, a completion walkthrough was performed on November 6 and the actual construction work was determined to be complete with all but the seeding complete on the punch list.

The final topographic report revealed that all surfaces over the cover conform to the design, except in borrow area number two, which is slightly smaller. Unfortunately, though everything possible was done to get through the rock, Young said, the missing 2300 cubic yards is from the area that will ultimately become the first cell of the new construction and debris pit.

As pockets of trash were uncovered in the borrow areas as the project went on, the amount of soil and topsoil that was available for the cover changed. This is among the issues that will be addressed in the final change order. The outstanding issue, said Young, involves contractors returning to the site, the cost of which the DEQ has only agreed to pay a portion of – and only if there is support for the request – and how much of the fee is the city’s responsibility and how much the contractor’s is still under discussion.

The final retainage fee for the project is $184,565 and is expected to be ready for council consideration at the January meeting. Council Member Joe Wilson requested a breakdown of the overruns for each portion of the project, such as design and engineering.