Highlights:
- The Gedney Way landfill in White Plains, NY has been closed for nearly 35 years but the city is just now getting ready to cap the site.
- Bids for the project were significantly more expensive than the city forecasted. The lowest bid came in over $4.4 million more than the expected $8 million cost.
- After negotiations, the city reduced the lowesest bid to $10.15 million but still believes a contingency must be built into any budget for overruns.
- To finance the project, the city's Capital Projects Board recommended the issuance of a $10.15 million bond
From the article:
The Gedney Way Landfill has been closed for almost 35 years, yet final capping of the former incinerator ash dumping site is only now on schedule for completion; a one-year project that is expected to be finalized in the fall of 2013.
At a meeting of the White Plains Capital Projects Board on Monday morning, June 25, Department of Public Works Commissioner Joseph (Bud) Nicoletti explained that bids on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approved capping plan, as developed by White Plains and AKRF Environmental Consultants, had been reviewed.
“With some modifications to the spec and discussions with contractors and different sub-contractors, we were able to reduce the lowest bid from $12.4 million to $10.15 million,” Nicoletti told members of the board. Initial estimates had put the cost of capping the site in the $8 million ballpark. The lowest bid came in $4.4 million over expectations.
Nicoletti noted that an estimated $1 million of further expense could be expected and 5 percent of the total cost should be considered as a contingency budget for unknowns that might arise during the capping. As an example, Nicoletti, cited the need to move the plastics recycling and fall leaf collection and composting to other areas of Gedney Yard during capping activities.
The Capital Projects Board recommended issuance of a bond for the $10.15 million amount. That bond was expected to be discussed and approved at a Special Meeting of the Common Council later on Monday afternoon. Commissioner Nicoletti also informed the group that a NYS DEC grant program was in effect to possibly reimburse the city of funds spent on the project.
