On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously approved a purchase and sale agreement for approximately six acres of land adjacent to the county landfill, located at 9179 County Road 500, for the purpose of constructing a new storage cell at the landfill.
County Attorney Todd Weaver explained during the meeting that the county was under the assumption it already owned the land, but during a survey of the property it was found that the parcel “was actually not deeded to the county back in the ‘70s and we need the land for the construction of cell 4B.”
The county is paying $24,000 for the 5.997 acre parcel of land, according to the purchase and sale agreement.
County Manager Jack Harper indicated that monies were allocated in the 2025 county budget for this purchase under the capital outlay fund.
Weaver noted that the land was appraised, an offer was accepted and everything is “ready to move forward.”
Consulting service contracts
During the same meeting, the BoCC also unanimously approved two supplemental letter agreements with Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH).
One of those agreements is for the amount of $149,000 for SEH to provide the county civil services, facilitate bid documents, and record and provide any required documents to the state, according to the Feb. 18 BoCC meeting agenda.
“We are looking at consultants for the construction of Cell 4B,” Public Works Director Mike Torres said earlier in the day during a BoCC work session.
The other agreement is for the amount of $79,000 for SEH to continue monitoring landfill gases, groundwater sampling, quarterly reporting, air quality, airspace calculation and to provide the all necessary documentation to the state, according to the Feb. 18 BoCC agenda.
During the work session, Torres indicated that the agreement for landfill monitoring is down from $97,000, while the agreement for civil services came down from an initial price of $159,000.
Torres also mentioned that he would step in where he could to “help fill in voids,” noting he is capable of project management.
He indicated that a new software system will be purchased that will allow for water and leachate pump data to be downloaded into a spreadsheet that can be sent directly to the state, keeping the cost of that service in-house.
“So, we are looking at making some cuts,” he said, noting the software program will cost roughly $5,000.
clayton@pagosasun.com
