Grant County to build new landfill shop

EPHRATA - Grant County plans to replace the shop, office and scale complex at the landfill, after it became too small for the equipment.

Davenport-based Halme Builders won the bid with a $2.1 million bid.

The bid came in $1.4 million below the architect's estimate and $400,000 below what public works expected, Public Works Director Derek Pohle said.

"We got a very favorable price from a good contractor," he said.

The money for the project is coming from public works' solid waste fund, which is funded through fees paid by landfill users. Pohle said the department has been saving money from the fund for the project.

"Nobody's property taxes are being used on this project. It's solely funded by user fees. If you use it, you pay and if you don't, you don't," he said.

The shop was constructed in 1974 and none of the equipment in the landfill will fit inside, Pohle said.

"The equipment has literally doubled in size during the last 30 years," he said. "(The new facility) is probably about four times the size. The old facility was a one-room office and a crew room and a very small bathroom and a single bay shop."

The new facility will contain three large bays and a smaller bay for work on smaller equipment, such as pickup trucks. It will also contain a regular-sized office, a smaller office, a crew room and more bathrooms, Pohle said.

"We can get in, out of the weather and away from the flies," he said.

The scale will be moved to the southeast corner of the landfill and a second one added, Pohle said. The change will allow traffic to flow better since the vehicles won't be waiting for the scale.

"We're updating the recycling center to make it more user friendly to the public," he said.

Pohle said the project needed to be done since he arrived 10 years ago.

"We've been working on it seriously for about four years," he said. "It has started and stopped based on our need to deal with the groundwater clean up issue we have out there first."

Construction is likely to start early next month and is scheduled to last 240 days, he said. Since the facility will be built in a new location it shouldn't interfere with traffic. They plan to switch the location during a weekend.