City to spend $16,400 for landfill monitoring

NEW LONDON – The New London Common Council has awarded the contract for groundwater monitoring of the landfill on County Highway S for 2026 to Robert E. Lee & Associates.
The council awarded the contract to Robert E. Lee & Associates in the amount of $16,400 when it met April 21.
The contract was discussed at the April 13, New London Board of Public Works/Sewer Utility Commission meeting, where Robert Garske, director of Public Works for the city of New London, reminded the commission that last year the commission asked him to send out request for proposals (RFP) when it came time to approve an agreement for the monitoring of the landfill on County Highway S.
Garske said he worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to obtain information about the landfill, such as monitoring well points, in order to assemble the RFP.
The city received only two proposal bids, Garske said. The bids were received from AECOM, the company the city currently used for landfill monitoring, and Robert E. Lee & Associates. The bid from AECOM was for $20,800, while the bid from Robert E. Lee & Associates was for $16,400.

Garske said he has had a “great working relationship” with AECOM. He added that he is currently working with AECOM on a proposal for the environmental monitoring of Mini Park, which the city has to do in the future.
“They (AECOM) started this whole process for New London and has been with us until this point,” Garske said.
Despite that, Garske recommended that the city contract with Robert E. Lee & Associates because of the cost savings. He added that Robert E. Lee & Associates is “more than qualified” to do the landfill monitoring.
“I do not know if it will affect future proposals that I receive from AECOM,” Garske said.
Ald. Tim Roberts asked for more information about the landfill that the monitoring would take place at.
Garske said at one point in the past, the city had an agreement to use that site for city trash. He thought that the site stopped being used for trash in the 1990s. Since then, the city has had to do gas and groundwater monitoring at the site. It currently only needs to do groundwater monitoring twice a year.
Because city trash was hauled to the site and the site went through a capping process and was secured, Garske said the groundwater monitoring is required.
Roberts asked how long into the future the monitoring is required.
Garske said the monitoring is required “forever.” He added that he asked the DNR if the groundwater monitoring could be done only one time per year, and was told it was “unheard of” to do the monitoring only one time per year.