Starting in the spring of 2018 Barrhead town residents will be saying goodbye to back lane garbage pickup — at least if everything goes according to schedule.
Councillors voted to approve the purchase of a new 2017 Peterbilt garbage truck with a heil compactor and curotto can for $369,614 plus G.S.T. during their Sept. 11 meeting. Coun. Ryan Warehime was opposed.
The addition of the truck will mean residents will now have their refuse picked up from specialized bins in front of their residences.
The equipment will be funded from the capital Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant program.
Barrhead chief operating officer Martin Taylor noted that the town’s current truck, a 2012 model, is the town’s most utilized piece of equipment.
“It operates five-days a week, eight hours a day, on a year round basis and it is starting to show its age,” he said.
He added that the new truck would give the town the option of adding a curbside recycling program.
“But for now it will be for residential pickup with some commercial,” he said.
Administration estimates the new truck will cost $100,000 a year less to operate. The majority of the savings will come from a reduction in staff, as the new truck is able to operate by one person rather than the current two.
Additional savings will come from added efficiencies, such as making fewer trips to the landfill due to its larger capacity and therefore could shorten the pickup cycle by one to two days a week.
Other benefits noted by public works staff include less wear and tear of the back lanes, especially during the spring thaw and wet seasons, as well as less debris in the community.
Taylor said the cost savings would also help offset the town’s annual recycling deficit, pegged at $169,000 in 2016.
Coun. Roy Ulmer asked if the town had opened up the truck to tender and where it was built.
“I was approached by a person who owned a company in Red Deer, who said he would have liked the opportunity to be able to bid for the project, so I am just wondering what the process was,” he said. The individual approached him while he was attending an recent conference by Alberta Care recycling.
Taylor said the bid had been put out to tender and eight companies submitted a bid, but only four met the town’s specifications.
Public Works fleet manager Chris Shembri added that the vehicle, as well as the container components were built in Canadian and U.S. plants.
Regardless of where they are built, he said the vehicle would be serviced in either Edmonton or Red Deer.
Gerry St. Pierre noted that in addition to the vehicle, the town would also need to purchase the individual containers that residents will need for garbage pickup, a cost estimated at about $175,000.
Coun. Ryan Warehime restated his objection that he made in April when council approved the 2017 operating and capital budgets.
“I just don’t see the value in it,” he said, adding he would like the town to purchase a similar one to what they currently have. “We have a very good service that I’m proud of. It may be old fashioned but it works well. I also question the time it will take to recoup our investment.”
