Dust Control – Soil Stabilization – Erosion Control

Bad weather may delay completion of Freeport’s landfill closure

A recent spell of rainy weather may derail efforts to complete Freeport’s landfill project prior to the arrival of winter.

Sue Grans, spokesperson for William Charles Construction, said Wednesday the contractor remains optimistic about finishing the project this fall. However, Grans acknowledged recent weather has put the project’s completion in jeopardy.

“We feel comfortable that we are on schedule,” Grans said. “But the rain has not helped and the days are getting shorter.”

William Charles Construction is the project’s primary contractor. However, the closure effort includes the City of Freeport, engineering firm Fehr-Graham & Associates, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ben Bushman, project manager for Fehr-Graham, said Thursday he expects the majority of the landfill’s cover system to be completed this fall. However, contractors may struggle to establish the necessary “grass cover.”

“All of the earth moving will be complete this fall,” Bushman said. “Everything else is weather dependent, primarily the seeding.”

The vegetation, Bushman explained, serves more than an aesthetic purpose.

“If we cannot get adequate grass cover, we will run the risk of erosion, mainly due to the spring thaw,” he said.

Playing from Behind

The odds were stacked against William Charles Construction from the beginning.

After collecting five bids for the landfill closure project, the City of Freeport awarded the project to Loberg Excavating in June. The contractor’s $1.6 million bid was more than $300,000 lower than the initial bid from William Charles Construction.

The decision quickly drew criticism from the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150.

At a June 1 City Council meeting, union representatives argued Loberg’s lack of landfill-specific experience (the contractor had never conducted the closure of a landfill) would ultimately lead to problems.

Two months later, the city was forced to find a new contractor after Loberg Excavating failed to secure a performance bond for the project. The city negotiated directly with William Charles Construction and the Freeport City Council voted unanimously to award the contract to the company. William Charles began the project within weeks.

“They were able to mobilize very quickly,” Freeport Community Development Director Shelly Griswold said. “And for the first few weeks, we had sunny weather. Unfortunately, we have had rain since then.”

The city first identified the need to close the landfill in 1995, and saved approximately $1.5 million in its landfill closure fund. The city plans to pay William Charles Construction $1.9 million for the project, which is about $300,000 more than the city was slated to pay Loberg.