The Steinbach landfill will see an expansion yet this year. And, City Council has now awarded the tender for the work.

The city's Administration has told Council that the current active landfill cell is expected to reach its capacity in 2023 and therefore it is important for this project to proceed in 2022. The tender for the project closed on July 13th with one bid being received. That tender came from Earth Max Construction Inc of Stony Mountain. 

At last week's regular meeting, City Council approved the tender for the amount of approximately $1.8 million. In order to assure the bid is of comparable value to the competitive market, an additional review of historical pricing for similar projects was completed. The report demonstrates that the bid is generally within the commonly expected range of fair pricing.

The city had approved an overall project budget of $1.75 million in its 2022 capital budget. City Councillor Jac Siemens says the project will be paid through funds from the city's Environmental Reserve.

"Steinbach landfill site is a class one landfill site," says Siemens. "It's the only one in southeastern Manitoba and we take a lot of product from other municipalities and communities. And so it is important."

Siemens adds it is also a revenue generator and important to keep the class one status.

"I think it is important that we maintain upgrading as time goes on in order to make this landfill site last longer," adds Councillor Bill Hiebert. "I think it's a good move for the city and I would approve as well."

Mayor Earl Funk says as Steinbach grows, its facilities need to grow too, including the landfill. 

"Because as we grow, more houses, more garbage is created and our landfill will be able to also grow," adds Funk. "So I will support this motion."

The work must be completed before fall freeze-up.