Council approves contract amendment to add staff support for landfill operations

The Bristol Virginia City Council on Sept. 23 approved a contract amendment to provide additional technical staffing for landfill operations, city staff said. The amendment will add experienced technicians so the city can operate two two‑person field teams to perform maintenance on roughly 60 landfill wells and to reduce travel‑related mobilization costs for outside specialists. Solid‑waste staff (identified during the meeting as Sasha — city landfill director) told council that, over the past 18 months, increased field needs — pump changeouts, condensate work, pipe welding and well maintenance — have required frequent outside support and travel from distant contractors. The additional staff will be local, experienced technicians available to dispatch quickly and reduce mobilization costs; staff asked to increase the contract authorization to about $155,000 to cover the added support. Why it matters: City staff said the landfill requires considerable ongoing physical maintenance and that adding experienced, local hands reduces both response times and the need to fly or drive in distant contractors repeatedly. The director said the amendment is allowable under the current contract and will permit staffing coverage for two teams of two people for up to two years. Council action: After discussion, a motion to approve the contract amendment passed by roll call (Holmes — yes; Osborne — yes; Pollard — yes; Mays — yes). Staff will oversee contracting and manage expenditures under the amended authorization. Implementation and oversight: Solid‑waste staff will deploy the teams for well changeouts and other maintenance; staff said the city is averaging $80,000–$90,000 per month with current staffing, and the amendment is intended to reduce total costs by avoiding repeated mobilizations from distant vendors and by increasing local capability.