The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved the purchase of a Komptech grinder for the county landfill. Commissioner Keith Baker moved to authorize the expenditure of $825,000 to purchase the machine. Commissioner Rusty Granzella seconded the motion. The money will come from the Landfill Enterprise fund.
The BoCC settled on the Komptech model after considering a similar model manufactured by TANA. The board decided on the Komptech model due to its extended warranty options, and its higher shredding capacity.
Other positive benefits of purchasing a grinder include: selling mulch, recycling scrap metal, and the airspace saved by extending the lifespan of the landfill.
The Komptech grinder has a Caterpillar engine rated around 525 horsepower. Should the need arise, Caterpillar will service the engine, Komptech will service all other parts of the machine.
Board Chair Greg Felt pointed that the grinder could serve more than just the landfill. “We’re not going to be running the grinder all the time, so maybe there’s opportunity to make money with it in other ways.” Said Felt.
According to Landfill Manager Shannon Wilcox, area contractors have already inquired about using the grinder. Saguache County has also shown interest.
“To me, the Komptech model is the better value,” said Granzella. “I like the warranty; I think that is very important.”
Baker echoed Granzella’s comment. “I agree. When you look at the costs the Komptech is the better value.”
Contract with CTA Group for updated Comprehensive Plan
The BoCC also approved the contract for CTA group to act as a consultant for the county’s updated Comprehensive Plan.
“One thing that set them apart in addition to extensive work in rural mountain communities, is that all of the functions that go into a project like this are conducted in-house, while the other candidate teams were literally teams assembled – businesses coming together to combine their specialties and talents,” said County Chair Greg Felt in a statement to Ark Valley Voice in early May.
“That’s fine, it’s common, but with CTA, there was a question posed – ‘what if you need more detailed information, say on water resource engineering than one of the team members have, what do you do?’ said Felt. “And their response was ‘I go down the hall for 10 minutes and get the answer I need.’ It just had a good solid feel to it.”
The update to the Comprehensive Plan has huge implications for current county priorities. Commissioner Keith Baker, who attended the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) meeting in Poncha Springs on Tuesday, spoke to the importance of an updated Comprehensive Plan and CTA group’s involvement.
“Today, we approved the contract with CTA group,” Baker said. “This will play a big part in integrating fire protection, forest health, and watershed health [into the comprehensive plan].”
Would be interested to know what a “Komptech grinder” is, and how it’s used….
S. Patterson,
The Komptech Grinder will be used to grind/shred landfill waste into small particles. The purpose is to reduce the ‘bulk’ of landfill waste, save space, and extend the lifespan of the landfill. Hope this helps!