The following are brief reports of items discussed at a Jan. 30 Minden Hills council meeting.
The Township of Minden Hills will pay Miller Waste more than $90000to dispose of the large pile of mattresses furniture and textileamassed at the township’s Scotch Line landfill.
The township received three written quotes for the removal of thepile which staff have estimated to weigh 850 tonnes requiring anestimated 35 truckloads of material to be hauled away. The lowest quotecame from Miller at $90800 plus HST.
While the township’s procurement policy requires any work with avalue above $15000 to put through a formal request for proposalsprocess a report from public works director Travis Wilson requestedthat council consider the contract an emergency procurement since thepile is not in compliance with the Environmental Compliance Approval for the Scotch Line landfill through the Ministry of EnvironmentConservation and Parks.
“You won’t see that ugly pile that’s been sitting there for years”Wilson said. Going forward the plan is to bring in bins for therecycling of mattresses and clothing.
Hauling hazardous waste
The township will extend a contract with Buckham Transport Limitedfor the transportation and processing of hazardous waste. Minden Hillshosts hazardous waste days five times per year at the Scotch Linelandfill. “This agreement was part of a joint procurement partnershipwith the Township of Algonquin Highlands” read a report from publicworks director Travis Wilson. “The original term of the agreement endedin 2017 and the township has since exercised both contractualextensions with the agreement fully expiring Dec 31 2019. At present the hazardous waste collection program is partially subsidized by theMunicipal Hazardous and Special Waste program. While the township doespay Buckham for service the funding program reimburses a portion ofthat cost.”
As the report indicated the Waste Free Ontario Act will makeproducers of hazardous products responsible for the cost and delivery of the hazardous waste program and that transition is set to take placein 2021.
“Under this advice the staff from the Township of AlgonquinHighlands and the Township of Minden Hills agreed that it would beappropriate to recommend a sole-source procurement from Buckham toavoid entering into a new and lengthy contract during uncertain times”read Wilson’s report.
With the company offering the same rates as 2019 it’s anticipatedthe service will cost $51000 for the year that money included in the2020 operating budget.
No washrooms for Nature’s Place
While $30000 toward a new washroom at Nature’s Place theinterpretive centre on the Minden Hills Cultural Centre property hadinitially been included in the 2020 draft budget that project has beenremoved. As a report from economic development destination andmarketing officer Emily Stonehouse indicated the Ontario Building Codeonly requires that there are accessible washrooms located somewhere onthe cultural centre property. Since there are accessible washrooms inthe cultural centre’s main building which is open whenever Nature’sPlace is open the project was pulled from the budget. The buildingformerly R.D. Lawrence Place did have a washroom when the building wasinitially constructed but it was removed years ago.
