JOHNSTOWN - The Fulton County Department of Solid Waste has proposed $620,000 worth of capital projects for 2013, the bulk of which would be spent on a new compactor to crush garbage at the county landfill.
Department Director Jeff Bouchard listed three proposed projects for the Board of Supervisors' Economic Development and Environment Committee Tuesday at the County Office Building.
Bouchard said the "big-ticket item" for next year is a new $550,000 landfill compactor he would like to purchase for his department. He said the compactor is 91,000-pound unit.
"This is what does the job of compacting the refuse into the landfill," he said.
He also listed a $40,000 project for next year involving gas well work at the landfill, which will include pumps, piping and fittings. A third capital project proposed for next year is the purchase of a $30,000 skid steer.
Bouchard also listed other proposed projects for 2014 and 2015, which include a tractor truck, roll-off trailer, landfill scale, off-road truck, recycling truck and a wheel wash system. He said state law requires vehicles' wheels to be washed before they leave the landfill.
The Department of Solid Waste has proposed multi-million dollar lists of annual capital projects in past years, but Bouchard said the $620,000 total proposed for 2013 represents a more prudent fiscal approach.
"We have cut back from previous years," Bouchard said.
The committee voted to accept the capital projects for 2013-2015, which means they will be submitted to the board's Capital Projects Committee for its review.
The Capital Projects Committee meets for the first time this summer at 9:30 a.m., July 12, at the County Office Building. That panel usually meets a few times. It will finalize a proposed list of projects for supervisors to consider in the fall as part of the county's 2013 budget.