Administrators are asking to spend $45 million over the next decade to upgrade the city’s Solid Waste Department. City directors heard several capital plans during a study session. Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman presented the Solid Waste Department’s plan, as he’s currently acting as its interim director. Dingman said in a memo to the board the equipment replacement schedule is regularly evaluated and can be adjusted due to equipment conditions or maintenance requirements.
The equipment subtotal for the 2022 capital improvement plan is almost $2.9 million and includes adding two front-load garbage trucks for residential collection, one front-load garbage truck for commercial collection, a service truck and crew cab pickup for fleet maintenance and a big bulldozer, an articulating dump truck and crew cab pickup for the landfill.
Dingman said a couple of items, including a ground compactor, were lease-purchased over the last three years. He said the department intends to stop leasing and buy the equipment it needs through a replacement program, keeping it as a frontline unit for its useful life, then having it as a reserve until it can be replaced. The department also has a subsection project at the landfill, which brings next year’s total to $9,380,226. The subsections compact waste and help organize space.
Dingman said cell A-6 is the last subsection for phase A of the landfill, and the first cell for phase B is scheduled to be developed adjacent to the area before the landfill closes phase A. He said the department plans to develop a subsection around every five years afterward, which coincides with the cell’s operating life.