By Zach Jensen,
Reconstruction of the county landfill’s new shop building will begin immediately.
The Winneshiek County Solid Waste Agency Board of Directors approved a bid Monday, Dec. 9 of $269,000 from Superior Building Center of Monona to build the landfill’s new shop. The previous shop building and its contents, including most of the landfill’s vehicles and all of its tools, was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of Nov. 22.
The second highest bid for the job was in the amount of $278,985 from A&J Construction, and the highest bid was submitted by Kruse Construction in the amount of $299,000. The board also approved $40,200 to be spent on electricity and plumbing for the new building.
Superior Building Center said the company could begin the project immediately, and it will be finished in 60 days, according to Winneshiek County Sanitary Landfill Manager TJ Schissel.
Schissel said the new building will be slightly larger than its predecessor and will include larger overhead doors, a small storm shelter and radiant heat.
The board also approved the purchase of several vehicles to replace a few lost in last month’s blaze. Included in the approved purchases is a new CAT 963 Track Loader for $450,000, a new skid loader for $75,650 and a new Polaris Ranger for $26,053. Schissel noted the Ranger which was destroyed last month was purchased for $5,500 in 2018.
Schissel added that all the landfill’s hand tools were also destroyed in the fire, and he will purchase replacements as they’re needed — he said the first tools he purchased after the loss were two snow shovels.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, and Schissel said the monetary value of all that was lost is immeasurable, although much of it was at least partially covered by insurance.
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