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Council rescinds landfill solar RFP and will rework procurement after debate over adjacent lot
Summary
The council rescinded a recent request for proposals (RFP) to sell or lease the town landfill for a ground-mounted solar project after review found only one qualified bidder and disagreement about including a 12-acre adjacent lot; the council asked staff to reissue a reworked RFP and to return with language for the next meeting.
Smithfield’s town planner said April 15 the review committee received three submissions to the town’s request for proposals (RFP) for the sale or lease of the town landfill for a ground-mounted solar project but recommended rescinding the RFP because only one bid was fully qualified and one bidder included an additional adjacent 12-acre parcel that had not been part of the original RFP.
Mike Phillips, town planner, told the council the committee wants to reissue the RFP with clearer emphasis on landfill-closure and solar options and to make the town’s preference clearer between a lease option and a purchase/closure option. He said the initial submissions suggested the purchase option — where a developer would buy the land, cap the landfill and install solar — offered the strongest financial model for the town.
Council members debated whether to include the adjacent 12-acre parcel in a rebid. Several council members and the town chief expressed concern about cutting trees on the adjacent lot and the risk of creating development pressure on a wooded buffer. One council member said the town should avoid effectively approving solar on a residentially zoned parcel simply by including it in the RFP. The council also discussed whether environmental testing on the adjacent lot is adequate; staff said DEM had tested the landfill parcel in 2015 but not the entire adjacent lot and that additional investigation would be needed to assess groundwater risk.
The council voted to rescind the RFP and directed staff to reissue a revised RFP. Council members asked staff to prepare language that clarifies options (purchase vs. lease), buffering, deed restrictions and environmental due diligence; some members suggested making inclusion of the second 12-acre lot contingent on testing and deed restrictions that preserve tree buffers.
The transcript records a voice vote rescinding the RFP and later a motion to table (hold) the authorization of a new RFP until the council reviews revised language at a subsequent meeting. The planner said he would bring a revised procurement document back to the council for review; no final sale, lease, or contract award was approved at the April 15 meeting.
Council members and the police/fire chiefs noted the landfill has been a long-term contingent liability for the town and stressed the benefit of transferring remediation responsibility to a qualified developer, but they also cautioned against unintended land-use changes on adjoining forested acreage.
The council instructed staff to return a revised RFP and recommended investigating limited testing of the adjacent parcel so bidders understand environmental constraints before submitting proposals.
