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Concrete crushing delayed

Cost estimated at $10,000

By Bert Lehman


The Clintonville Finance Committee has requested more information before authorizing spending around $10,000 to crush 3,000 tons of concrete and asphalt stockpiled at Clintonville Area Waste Services.

Kray Brown, public works director for the city of Clintonville, first requested the funds at the April 4 Street Committee meeting.

He told the committee few companies will contract to crush less than 7,000 to 10,000 tons of material. He said he is in contact with Go Green, which is willing to crush the city’s stockpile of concrete and asphalt for $3.40 per ton, for a total cost of a little more than $10,000.

Once the material is crushed, it can be used for the base for roads, gravel roads and shoulders, among other things. If the city does not crush the concrete and asphalt, it would need to purchase gravel for these projects.

Brown also informed the committee that there isn’t much room at CAWS to store more concrete and asphalt.

Since the city’s utilities also uses gravel, Clintonville Utilities could pay for part of the cost of crushing, Brown said.

“We’re working together, we might as well share some of this stuff,” Brown said.

Brown added that he originally planned to wait to pursue crushing the material because he wanted to see how much concrete and asphalt the city would receive from the Main Street reconstruction project. He said he found out the city won’t be getting any of that material.

“If we are going to look at redoing some of our roads this year, we’re going to be going through some stone,” Brown said.

Committee member Jim Supanich asked if the city has money to cover the cost of concrete and asphalt crushing.

Brown said it was not included in the budget.

The committee recommended the city contract with Go Green to crush the city’s stockpile of concrete and asphalt for $3.40 per ton pending approval of funding at the Finance Committee scheduled for Monday, April 10.

Finance meeting
When Brown addressed the Finance Committee at its meeting Monday, April 10, he told the committee that the reasons he wants to crush the city’s stockpile of concrete and asphalt is to clean up the property at the CAWS location, and to use the crushed material instead of purchasing gravel, which in the long run will save the city money.

He told the committee the Public Works Department uses around 500 tons of gravel per year, spending around $3,200 each year to purchase gravel. As he said the cost for gravel is $8.32 per ton if purchased from a company in New London or $6.35 per ton if purchased from a company in Shawano. This cost does not include the city’s labor costs to pick up the gravel or the gas used by the city’s trucks to pick up the gravel.

“We need material, no matter what,” Brown said. “I’m looking at this as a cost savings, not only for this year, but potentially for the next couple years.”

Brown told the committee that the crushed material could be used for various projects. He said when the city reconstructs some of its streets in the future, a better base needs to be created, and this material could be used to build that base.

The city would save around $9,000 if it crushed 3,000 tons of concrete and asphalt versus purchases 3,000 tons of gravel.

Later in the meeting, Brown said the Public Works Department currently has no gravel in reserve.

Supanich, who is also on the Finance Committee, asked where the money would come from to pay for the crushing.

Brown said it’s not in the budget, adding that if he had been with the city when the budget was created, he would have included it in the budget.

Finance Committee member Lance Bagstad asked Brown what happens to the material if it isn’t crushed.

Brown said it would remain in piles at its current location. He said material won’t be added to the area because of the risk of damaging tires on city equipment.

“When you look at the yard out there, obviously it’s scattered,” Brown said. “We don’t have any room.”

Bagstad asked Brown what he expected to pay in gravel purchases through the end of the year if the concrete and asphalt isn’t crushed.

Brown said roughly $3,000 to $3,500.

Supanich suggested holding off on crushing the material so it can be included in future budgets.

Brown said there is no guarantee the cost of crushing the material won’t increase in the future.

“We’re getting a really good deal now,” Brown said.

Brown added that he is working on creating a maintenance plan for the city’s streets. Once that is developed, the city’s need for gravel may be more than 500 tons per year.

Committee Chairman Mark Doornink asked Brown if this decision could wait one month, while he continued to gathered information for the street maintenance plan.

Brown said it could, but he can’t wait one month without purchasing gravel.

Clintonville City Administrator Chuck Kell told the committee that the Maize Street reconstruction came in under budget last year, and some of that savings could be used to cover the cost of crushing the concrete and asphalt stockpile. He added that he was holding those funds to the side to help pay the city’s portion to repair the sidewalk on Ninth Street.

Kell added that using undesignated fund balance to cover the cost of crushing probably doesn’t meet the city’s financial policies.

The committee asked Brown to gather more information about how much gravel the city plans to use in the future, and present that information at the May Finance Committee meeting.

Council meeting
Concrete and asphalt crushing was on the agenda when the Clintonville Council met Tuesday, April 11.

When Brown addressed the council, he told the council that he has achieved savings in the Public Works capital improvement budget through the first three months of the year. He asked that a portion of those savings be used to pay the cost of crushing the city’s stockpile of concrete and asphalt.

“I have monies left over to do this project,” Brown said.

He also told the council Go Green is willing to honor its price quote if the city waited, but Brown said with the upcoming projects in the next couple weeks, he will have to purchase gravel if the city doesn’t crush the concrete and asphalt.

“I’m looking at [purchasing] approximately $1,200 [of gravel], and that’s only going to get me to about 60 tons of gravel,” Brown said.

If the city crushes the concrete and asphalt, it would have approximately 300 tons of gravel for a little over $10,000, Brown said.

“I would rather take the $1,200 and actually put it towards having a substantial amount versus just a small amount,” Brown said.

The council unanimously approved funding the crushing of the city’s stockpile of concrete and asphalt for the amount of $10,500 with that funds coming from the savings Public Works has realized in its capital improvements budget in 2017.

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