Home » News » Politics
August 15. 2012 12:55AM
Candia town dump shutdown put in limbo
CANDIA —Anger broke loose in Candia Monday night as the selectmen tried to decide on the best way to shut down the town dump and incinerator site.
About two dozen residents sat in the Town Hall meeting room and watched as board members vehemently disagreed on not only the direction of the project but also the past.
“The town has voted twice to take down the two buildings and close the site,” said Judith Szot, who added there’s a budget of $35,000 to do the work. But the project has evolved into a $129,000 cleanup and disposal plan that may need to be done in stages so the town can approve more money to pay the bill.
“People want to know how did we get to this point,” said Szot.
Selectman Richard Snow said different opinions, interpretations and personalities clashed over whether the town should take another look at hiring a local contractor who has said he can remove the buildings for $3,000 rather than the approximately $27,000 removal fee included in the $129,000 bid from EnviroVantage that covers the entire site closure.
“I guess you would call it a dichotomy of opinion,” said Snow.
Selectman Amanda Soares led the call for a second look at the $3,000 bid, adding the time was right since the town was breaking the project into two phases. However, when Soares raised the issue, other board members said there was no plan or contract to do the work in phases.
When Soares and others who wanted to explore that option pushed harder, Chairman Joe Durate shut down the discussion.
At their meeting on Aug. 2, the selectmen acknowledged the project would probably have to be done in two stages, possibly with two separate contracts. According to the minutes taken at that meeting, Scott Knightly of EnviroVantage explained his company could dispose of the incinerator stack, remove the former swap shop, and three sections of concrete for $27,000.
“They can do the work this fall, and it still falls under $35,000,” said Knightly. “Then if you decide to do the rest in the spring we will come back and do that. There are two things you can do — you can sign a contract for $30,000 to take care of this and then we’ll come back and sign another contract so you’re not held responsible for it. We’ll take this quote and we’ll split it.”
At that meeting, Snow pointed out that the company would be re-proposing or rebidding an amount for the balance of the work, and he asked if there was a possibility that the price would increase.
Malcolm Bradshaw of EnviroVantage, who also attended the meeting, said the only cost that may increase is the disposal fee for the ash removed from the site.
However, Monday night the selectmen insisted there was no two-phase plan on the table.
Snow said the town is in negotiations with EnviroVantage, but nothing formal has come forward yet.
“It isn’t a firm plan,” said Snow. “We don’t have a formal piece of paper just yet.”
Snow added the board’s reluctance to look at another option to remove the buildings stems from the fact that it does not want to jeopardize the $129,000 bid that is now in play. The other two bids for the closure project came in around $336,000.
“I’m looking at that and thinking what do I have to do to lock them in,” said Snow. “If we can get that bid, it’s a reasonable thing to do.”
But others in town still question why a $35,000 closure plan proposed by Soares has been scrapped in favor of the $129,000 proposal now being considered. Soares’ proposal included removing the incinerator and the old swap shop from the site and capping the ash pit with clay.
“We just wanted to get the closure done,” said Soares, who spent more than a year on the project. Soares said she had everything lined up, including permits from the Department of Environmental Services.
But last spring, the selectmen decided to take another look at the closure plan. Tests run on the ash at the site uncovered metals and other pollutants and forced the town to expand the closure plan to include cleanup and disposal costs.
Barbara Taormina may be reached at btaormina@newstote.com.
About two dozen residents sat in the Town Hall meeting room and watched as board members vehemently disagreed on not only the direction of the project but also the past.
“The town has voted twice to take down the two buildings and close the site,” said Judith Szot, who added there’s a budget of $35,000 to do the work. But the project has evolved into a $129,000 cleanup and disposal plan that may need to be done in stages so the town can approve more money to pay the bill.
“People want to know how did we get to this point,” said Szot.
Selectman Richard Snow said different opinions, interpretations and personalities clashed over whether the town should take another look at hiring a local contractor who has said he can remove the buildings for $3,000 rather than the approximately $27,000 removal fee included in the $129,000 bid from EnviroVantage that covers the entire site closure.
“I guess you would call it a dichotomy of opinion,” said Snow.
Selectman Amanda Soares led the call for a second look at the $3,000 bid, adding the time was right since the town was breaking the project into two phases. However, when Soares raised the issue, other board members said there was no plan or contract to do the work in phases.
When Soares and others who wanted to explore that option pushed harder, Chairman Joe Durate shut down the discussion.
At their meeting on Aug. 2, the selectmen acknowledged the project would probably have to be done in two stages, possibly with two separate contracts. According to the minutes taken at that meeting, Scott Knightly of EnviroVantage explained his company could dispose of the incinerator stack, remove the former swap shop, and three sections of concrete for $27,000.
“They can do the work this fall, and it still falls under $35,000,” said Knightly. “Then if you decide to do the rest in the spring we will come back and do that. There are two things you can do — you can sign a contract for $30,000 to take care of this and then we’ll come back and sign another contract so you’re not held responsible for it. We’ll take this quote and we’ll split it.”
At that meeting, Snow pointed out that the company would be re-proposing or rebidding an amount for the balance of the work, and he asked if there was a possibility that the price would increase.
Malcolm Bradshaw of EnviroVantage, who also attended the meeting, said the only cost that may increase is the disposal fee for the ash removed from the site.
However, Monday night the selectmen insisted there was no two-phase plan on the table.
Snow said the town is in negotiations with EnviroVantage, but nothing formal has come forward yet.
“It isn’t a firm plan,” said Snow. “We don’t have a formal piece of paper just yet.”
Snow added the board’s reluctance to look at another option to remove the buildings stems from the fact that it does not want to jeopardize the $129,000 bid that is now in play. The other two bids for the closure project came in around $336,000.
“I’m looking at that and thinking what do I have to do to lock them in,” said Snow. “If we can get that bid, it’s a reasonable thing to do.”
But others in town still question why a $35,000 closure plan proposed by Soares has been scrapped in favor of the $129,000 proposal now being considered. Soares’ proposal included removing the incinerator and the old swap shop from the site and capping the ash pit with clay.
“We just wanted to get the closure done,” said Soares, who spent more than a year on the project. Soares said she had everything lined up, including permits from the Department of Environmental Services.
But last spring, the selectmen decided to take another look at the closure plan. Tests run on the ash at the site uncovered metals and other pollutants and forced the town to expand the closure plan to include cleanup and disposal costs.
- - - - - - - -
Barbara Taormina may be reached at btaormina@newstote.com.
» SHARE EVENTS FOR PUBLICATION, IT'S FREE!
Upcoming Events
- Should Manchester's mayor receive a 59% pay raise?
- Yes
- 23%
- No
- 77%
- Total Votes: 292