Staff recommends the City Council award a construction contract to COP Construction, LLC for W.O. 20-46: Landfill Compost Facility-Schedule 2, in the amount of $861,140.

The City contracted with Great West Engineering in July 2020, to perform an investigative study, alternatives analysis, design, and construction contract administration services related to a composting facility at the Billings Regional Landfill.  Solid Waste currently diverts green waste at the landfill, shreds it, and landfills the majority of the material.  The goal is to implement a full-scale composting operation incorporating yard waste, wood waste, and biosolids from the Water Reclamation Facility.  The initial plan is to utilize a Covered Aerated Static Pile (CASP) system that will co-compost 25,000 tons/year of waste products.  By removing these organic waste streams from the landfill, another 6-8 years of operational life is projected to be added to the Landfill.  Eventually, the plan is to increase output to 50,000 tons/year, extending the Landfill life even further.  The footprint of the site improvements is sized to accommodate the future expansion to 50,000 tons/year.  The finished compost product will initially be used at the Landfill for restoration on existing slopes and future Landfill projects and for daily intermediate cover.  After allowing some time to hone the process and likely improve the quality of the finished product, the compost material will be made available to Parks, Street & Traffic, and any other City divisions to be used in restoration on City projects.  Ultimately, there is the potential to make the compost material available to the public.  The location of the new compost facility is south of the existing Landfill, south of Hillcrest Road near the intersection of Hillcrest and Stratton Roads, on City-owned land that has been previously licensed by the Montana DEQ for solid waste operations.  

Schedule 2 of W.O. 20-46 Landfill Compost Facility constructs the mechanical components of the CASP composting system, including a blower, aeration piping, push wall, instrumentation controls, and other mechanical and electrical components, as well as a small pre-fabricated concrete building to house all the electronics.  Schedule 1, which was bid previously on March 7, generally includes all site construction work.

Schedule 2 was advertised on March 3, 10, and 17, 2023, in the Yellowstone County News and on the City's website.  Bids were opened on March 21, 2023.  Two bids were received.  COP Construction submitted the lowest responsible bid.

City Council may:

• Award a construction contract to COP Construction LLC in the amount of $861,140; or,
• Not award a contract and reject all bids.  If the bid is not awarded, green waste and biosolids will continue to be landfilled, limiting the overall operation life of the Landfill.

The following bids were received:

Bidder (Contractor)	Total Bid Amount
COP Construction LLC	$861,140.00
K2 Civil, Inc.	$882,000.00

The project was budgeted in FY23 using Solid Waste Funds.  There are sufficient funds available to award this contract.