City council will make a recommendation next week seeking proposals or quotes on engineering work for the proposed solid waste transfer station.

City Manager Paul Sabiston said the scope of the work of the engineer, if chosen, would include site selection along with design and other matters. “Part of the process is finding out what is important to us so we can go about the design and giving sites that may work.”

Mayor Emery Doughtie during a work session tonight asked should a firm recommend a site would that lead to a public hearing.

The city manager responded, “That’s right, we’ve got a few more things to nail down.”

Doughtie has said he is not opposed to working with the county on the transfer station as opposition to the proposal mounts in Lincoln Heights and others areas in South Rosemary.

Sabiston said following the meeting other city owned sites other than Public Works area are being considered.

The latest revenue projections for the approximately $695,000 project show with a transfer station the city could see operating revenues over expenses of $282,814. Without a station that figure would be $180,742.

The projections are based on 28,000 tons per year with 7,200 coming from the city’s own solid waste and debris.

Financing options have also changed since the matter was first discussed, Sabiston has said, with debt service being calculated on financing $700,000 over 20 years at an estimated percentage rate of 3.05 percent.

Financing for 20 years instead of 10 years contained in earlier documents would mean an annual debt service of $47,268.66.

The transfer station concept is to build a facility at the city’s maintenance yard where residential and commercial solid waste may be delivered and then transferred by independent haulers to a landfill.

The city’s own collection trucks and third party commercial haulers which pick up solid waste or choose to bring it from other areas will be the primary users, an earlier memo says.

Preliminary studies by the state Department of Transportation show Hinson Street, where the proposed station would be located, would not have to be improved if 100,000 tons a year were transported on it.