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Saskatoon city council made the final vote Thursday afternoon to allow a project to go ahead that would create a permanent solution for processing organic waste collected under the city’s green bin program.
Council last month voted 6-5 in favour of pursuing a city-owned and operated composting facility to be constructed near the current landfill.
Council voted Wednesday to create the capital project, and Thursday’s 6-4 vote authorized the city administration to borrow $22.1 million to pay for it. (Coun. Bev Dubois, who previously voted against the city-owned composting option, was unable to attend a special session held Thursday afternoon after Wednesday’s regular council meeting ran late).
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The borrowed funds are to be repaid through utility rates.
Even with the cost of repaying the loan, council previously heard that a city-owned option is viewed by city staff as the cheapest way forward, and is expected to save ratepayers $1.5 million per year compared to the current arrangement with Loraas, which was contracted to process Saskatoon’s organic material at a composting facility it owns north of the city limits.
While council could still opt to seek a private sector option if detailed design work indicates the city-owned option will be over-budget, this week’s votes should put an end to the long-running issue of how to handle green bin material.
The city originally contracted with Green Prairie Environmental Ltd. to build and operate a composting facility at a landfill it owns south of the city limits. That project was meant to be completed in time for the green bin program launch last spring.
However, Green Prairie was unable to build its proposed composting plant after the Rural Municipality of Corman Park rejected a discretionary use application, which in turn caused the city to activate a contingency plan to contract with Loraas until a permanent solution could be found.
Green Prairie has challenged the Corman Park council decision in court, where the matter remains unresolved.
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