The Kenai City Council passed an ordinance that would authorize a purchase order increase to Alaska Waste for sludge disposal services at the Waste Water Plant.
The ordinance would consolidate all fees associated with the Waste Water sludge from the Treatment Plant and to provide additional funding to get through the current fiscal year, according to memo documents. The current purchase order of $28,500 may now be reduced to $10,000 with the balance reverting into the department’s operational budget. $18,500 in disposal fees, which were previously paid directly to the Kenai Peninsula Borough, will now be paid to, and must be added, to Alaska Waste’s Purchase Order.
As of January 1, 2022, the department incurred over $37,000 in fees associated with the hauling and disposal of sludge. A new sludge press is set to be installed, which prompted members of council to ask Director of Public Works, Scott Curtin, when it would be installed:
“We are still dealing with supply chain issues; however, the press does appear to be coming in July is the last round. It’s a little delayed from what my original expectations were, but not terribly. We’re still finalizing our design documents. We’re going to be releasing it for bid later this spring and we’ll have the site prepped in anticipation of it arriving. So, I do expect it to be up in operation. It’s a prepackaged unit. Installation will happen very quickly. I expect it to be operational by the end of summer.”
Staff previously hauled sludge to the landfill utilizing a city owned dump truck, which was removed from service last summer due to necessary repairs. Once the new screw press is installed and has been operational for six months, Curtin says there should be enough data to decide on whether continuing with the disposal service or purchasing of a new dump truck is in the best interest of the city.
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