Watertown council defers landfill drop-off ramp award after questions about heavy loads and budget

The Watertown City Council on July 21 deferred a decision on awarding a contract to build paved drop-off ramps at the city landfill after council members raised concerns about how the design will affect residents with heavy loads and how the project fits within the overall budget. The council accepted a substitute motion to defer the item to the Aug. 4 meeting. The project, presented by City Engineer Justin Peterson, would add paved ramps and a new drop-off configuration so residents would not have to drive into the landfill pit. Peterson told the council the ramps are intended to keep the public off mud and dirt and to make drop-off safer and more efficient. He said the engineering division received three bids and recommended awarding the construction contract to Basin Construction. The contract amount was described in the meeting materials as roughly $170,000 for the construction portion. Why it matters: Council members emphasized that the proposed ramps would change how residents unload heavy household items and bulky waste. Several council members said the current setup allows people to back up to containers and tip heavy items directly from vehicles; the new design would require many users to walk up ramps and carry heavy items to the dump points. Councilman Mormon and others said that approach could limit what people can reasonably drop off, would increase the chance of slips in wet or icy conditions and could raise city liability if people fall. Discussion details: Council members asked whether the new paved drop-off would replace existing roll-off containers and how the two parts of the project were budgeted. Finance and engineering materials in the packet list an engineer's estimate for the construction portion of $290,009.20 and show a total project budget of $410,500. Peterson said the construction portion is only part of the total cost; roll-off containers and trailers would be purchased separately and were estimated at about $180,000, and both pieces together would be within the budgeted $410,500. Council members also said the city should have presented the entire procurement to the council at once so the full cost picture was clear. Peterson said staff had hoped to have the container quotes in time for the meeting but they were not ready. Action: Councilman Shutti moved — Councilman Peters seconded — a substitute motion to defer action on the bid award until the Aug. 4 meeting. The voice vote passed. Next steps: Staff was asked to bring back the outstanding container quotes, clarify how the new ramps would function for people with heavy items, respond to liability concerns raised by council members, and, if possible, provide a visual rendering of the proposed drop-off area for public understanding. Speaker attribution: Direct quotes and attributions in this article come from the meeting transcript and are limited to the speakers listed in the article metadata.