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May 7, 2004
Private landfill push is on
By HEIDI J. BERTOLINO Neth asked Craig Stowell, an engineer with Public Works; why the process was still not complete a year and two months after approval from the board. Stowell said that Public Works Director Sampson Yao had come on board after approval for privatization. He said the flood crisis in Pahrump and chip seal project had distracted the office from completing contract negotiations. John Shea from Pahrump Valley Disposal said he had not received a draft contract until January of this year and had made changes and submitted it back to the department in April. The commissioners questioned the savings because of equipment purchased since the privatization issue was approved and Shea explained the contract details relating to the new equipment and maintenance of the landfills. The compactor bid for the Pahrump landfill was discussed in correlation with the privatization contract and it was asked why the county was purchasing the equipment when plans had been made to privatize the landfill. Shea thought the private contractor would be able to provide a compacter for less and thus save the county money in purchase and negotiation efforts related to county equipment changeover to the company. The board voted to deny all bids for the $415,000 compactor intended for the Pahrump landfill. Stowell reminded the board the county needed the compactor because the Pahrump compactor did not meet the needs of the Pahrump landfill and was to be shipped to Tonopah, which did not have an operative compactor. Stowell said the Tonopah landfill was losing valuable space costing the county substantial money. Neth said "I suggest you guys get moving on that contract." The Pahrump Valley Disposal contract being negotiated involved Pahrump and Tonopah landfills and the Beatty and Amargosa transfer stations. Ken Berg of Smokey Valley Disposal Services asked why his request to operate the Tonopah landfill was not considered. Neth said Berg should have been notified that the contract for privatization had been awarded to Pahrump Valley Disposal. Shea said he thought northern companies might be interested in picking up the Tonopah area and he was not really interested in providing service to that location despite the fact it was included in the commission vote made in February 2003. |
