The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor City council is moving to impose drop-off fees at the Flin Flon landfill as questions surface over the remaining lifespan of the refuse site. Council last week passed first reading of a bylaw amendment that will see residents pay between $10 and $75, or more, when taking their own garbage to the dump. 'People have to pay for the services they're using and that's where we're going, and that's for everybody,' said Mayor George Fontaine. The amendment would see residents with household garbage weighing less than a ton pay $10 per vehicle when dropping off trash. Those bringing construction-related material weighing less than a ton will pay $25 a vehicle. The fee for commercial material between one and five tons will be $50 per vehicle. A single-axle truck dropping off more than five tons of refuse will pay $75 per vehicle, with additional axles over two tons paying $25 a vehicle. In each case, a trailer will be charged as a second vehicle. The fee structure could be in place as soon as council's next meeting on the evening of June 19, at which time the amendment may receive final approval. See 'Study...' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 1 Mayor Fontaine said he hoped the drop-off fees _ also known as tipping fees _ can reduce the cost of the landfill to the Flin Flon taxpayer 'and make it cost-neutral if we can get it right.' After a member of the public expressed concern the fees would have people improperly disposing of garbage, Coun. Colleen McKee said: 'Shame on them if they do.' But there will be more than shame involved, as Mayor Fontaine said those who violate the law around garbage disposal 'will be prosecuted.' The first reading of the amendment carried without opposition. Only Coun. Skip Martin was absent from the council meeting. Coincidentally, the vote followed discussion between council and taxpayer advocate Blair Sapergia on the state of the landfill. Sapergia said the dump is 'becoming extremely full' and asked how much time is left in its 'finite life.' Mayor Fontaine said obtaining the answer to that question is a reason the city has commissioned a study of the landfill. The study will also examine whether there is groundwater contamination at the site, and issues such as whether garbage-burning should be considered. 'They'll look at a whole variety of things and come back to us with some answers and tell us, what are our positives and what are our limitations,' Mayor Fontaine said. Trailer needed? Sapergia then questioned whether the city should proceed with a trailer at the dump to house the attendant during hours of operation. He said it appeared the trailer would be hooked up to water, sewer and electricity, and estimated the total price tag of its installation at $200,000. Mayor Fontaine said he did not believe that estimate was accurate 'but it's going to cost us something.' Mentioning the cost associated with hooking the landfill up to electricity, Sapergia said the trailer project is 'going to cost something and I don't see a lot of life in that spot for a dump.' Coun. Ken Pawlachuk said his own concerns about the working conditions for the landfill attendant were a key rationale for the trailer. The old building for the attendant lacks a washroom, electricity and what Coun. Pawlachuk considers a proper place to eat. No matter how long the landfill has left, Mayor Fontaine said, 'we had to do something to make a proper enclosure for our employees to be in, just to be legal.' 'We're assuming that we're going to have longevity in our dump,' added the mayor. 'If that's not the case then we'll just have to say, 'Sorry, we tried.' But we're going to assume...that we have longevity, and even closing the dump down wouldn't happen in a day. It's going to be around for a long time before we can get alternatives, so we need to do something about that, so we're doing something about that.' Mayor Fontaine said if it turns out that electricity for the landfill 'becomes an unaffordable option,' alternatives, such as solar heat, will be examined. 'We're not just throwing money out the door,' he said. For Coun. Bill Hanson, electricity at the landfill makes sense for reasons beyond the attendant's trailer. 'It gives us an opportunity to have more of an industrial area there,' he said. 'There are some lots back there that we could, in the future, access. If the dump did get closed down, would we cap it and turn it into something else? Probably. Why wouldn't we? There's a road, there's electricity. There's a lot of land back there that would be usable for other things.'
