I received this note today:
Comment: Just wondering if you are aware that the land fill is getting into the trucking business? They will have spent close to 1 million dollars buying trucks trailers and hiring drivers. All this to get rid of Tews. Tews charges somewhere around $550,000 per year to haul cans from the transfer sites. It will cost the landfill more than that per year paying drivers and cost to maintain trucks and trailers. They claim the landfill is a enterprise but with the money that is spent there, there is no way tipping fees cover the money that is spent there. This is just the tip of the iceberg of how much has been spent there. Almost every vehicle in the land fill is brand new. New front end loader,new skid steer, the list goes on and on. Plus all the new employees the land fill has hired recently. The land fill is pretty much off most peoples radar but its something that really needs to be brought to the public’s attention. Its just a matter of time before our property taxes are raised to run the land fill. In fact there is a woman there that is writing a proposal for the assembly to do just that. On a final note the Borough owns over 120 vehicles most of which just sit around day after day.
Question: Did the MSB Assembly approve this policy change to move towards in-house trucking? Was this highlighted for the public and Assembly members at an Assembly meeting? If so, I can’t find it.
Here are screenshots from the related RFPs & bids:
The MSB has a history of conflict with Tews, Inc:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2016/10/21/mat-su-borough-terminates-last-chance-road-contract-with-big-lake-company/
