The Town of Colonie has announced that it is currently in the final negotiating stages with Waste Connections, Inc., a private firm out of California, to assume the operation of the town’s landfill.
This announcement comes after a Request for Proposal was sent out in January for private firms to bid on beginning a partnership with the town. Waste Connections, Inc., was on of the six companies the town was in negotiations with.
Supervisor Paula Mahan said there has not been a final agreement reached and that a solid date has not been set for when the agreement will be reached.
We don’t know how things will progress, she said.
As mentioned yesterday, the town will be holding public information sessions at Town Hall, one on July 13 at 8:30 a.m., and another on July 14 at 6 p.m. There have been two additional meetings confirmed by Mahan with one of July 20 at 7 p.m., at The Crossings of Colonie, and another on July 25 at 7 p.m., in the Village of Colonie at the Village Hall on Thunder Road.
Mahan said there will be more information at those meetings and that once a final agreement is reached it will be presented to the Town Board.
Department of Public Works Commissioner Jack Cunningham said the process was a long one and said that after a thorough review by the town’s Landfill Exploratory Committee, Waste Connections, Inc. was the best option.
`It provided the best benefit for the town from an operating standpoint and through financial considerations,` he said. `They appear to be a really good fit for the community.`
Terms and negotiations are still be negotiated, he said, but those negotiations cannot be made public as for the safety of the taxpayers.
Waste Connections, Inc., will be operating the landfill the same way the town did. It will be looking to maximize the amount of waste volume as well as work with other companies in the region to bring in waste.
`There will be no limitations of tonnage of waste from other companies,` Cunningham said, adding that there are location restrictions. `We don’t want waste from New York City.`
There have currently been no pink slips handed out to any of the workers at the landfill and Cunningham said he is working under the assumption that there won’t be any.
`We haven’t met with unions yet, it has never been part of our plan to eliminate positions in the town with this agreement,` he said. `We still have a lot of steps to go before we make those announcements and we like to make sure we have all those conversations. Never in any of our analysis have we assumed any layoffs.`
All of this comes after a preliminary study on the creation of a Regional Solid Waste Authority that would include Albany County, Columbia County, Greene County, Montgomery County, Rensselaer County, Saratoga County, Schenectady County, Schoharie County and Washington County. In the study, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said that if the town were to go through with it’s process and choose a private company that it could have some negative implications such as reducing the life expectancy of the landfill, which is projected to be 14 to 16 years.
Mahan said there was some miscommunication in that a private company will not be acquiring the landfill and that it is an operating agreement. She said from the details the town has seen, this agreement will be beneficial.
`As far as the longevity and future costs, I think they haven’t had the chance to see the details of what we’re looking at,` she said. `It’s very good for the town.`
“