Sf_council_09-17

Jeff Green | Apr 30, 2009

Landfill Site Report

Guy Laporte of Aecon Consulting gave Council a brief overview of the results of this year's landfill monitoring. Based on current waste generation rates, compaction and population forecasts, the township has good waste disposal capacity for at least 20 more years.

Portland has the greatest approved capacity, but that may be compromised by environmental concerns over the amount of wetland on the site. It is also filling faster than the other township sites: 5% faster than predicted.

Loughborough's waste site has consumed 75% less capacity than projected, possibly due to improved diversion. Township recycling overall is down 6% from last year: the total tonnage of glass is "away down."  LaPorte ascribed this to more bottles being returned for refunds. He was careful to emphasise that none of these statistics carry great significance unless they continue a trend for several years in a row. Twice a year monitoring will continue at Portland, Bedford and Loughborough landfill sites.

Road Maintenance

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth gave an information report on recent plans to maximize the roads budget through preventative maintenance where possible. He demonstrated how Sydenham Road, which is basically sound but has a lot of transverse cracks and some weak edges might not need to have its asphalt replaced. Its lifespan can be more economically extended by a program of crack sealing and micro-surfacing. At the same time, safety will be improved by shoulder paving.

There was general agreement that roads are high profile, and it would be a good idea, once the season's road repair schedule is developed, to post iton the township website.