New trash trucks, landfill improvements on the way

The City of Socorro’s landfill and trash collection will undergo several upgrades, including two new landfill cells, a new landfill compactor and two new natural gas-powered garbage trucks. The landfill’s tipping fee may also increase.

The Socorro City Council approved publication of a proposed ordinance to increase the tipping fee by $5 over the course of five years during its Feb. 7 meeting. The increase would bring in $46,000 per year for the city, said Finance Director Ruby Lopez. The fee is lower than in other areas, Lopez said.

The proposed ordinance points to increasing labor, fuel, utilities and materials costs to explain the necessity of increasing tipping fees for commercial and construction charges. The ordinance would also adopt fees for the disposal of dead animals at the landfill.

There would still be no charge for residential waste that is covered and hauled in someone’s own vehicle smaller than or equal to the size of a standard pickup truck. The uncovered waste would continue to be $3 per load. Commercial haulers already pay $35 per ton covered and an additional $10 per uncovered load. The increase would add $1 per year, so by 2027 the fixed fee would be $40. The fixed fee for construction, demolition and general waste would go up from $40 per ton to $45 in the same time frame.

The fee for disposing of dead animals would be set between $5 and $100, depending on the size of the animal.

The City Council also approved applications for financial assistance for a landfill compactor, landfill cell construction and the purchase of two new garbage trucks.

Including the cost of engineering, the landfill cell construction will require $1.3 million. The city is building two new cells at the landfill. The loan is only for the cost of construction and will be paid over 10 years. The new compactor will take a year to build and require an $810,000 loan, to be paid off over seven years.

Funding for the purchase of new garbage trucks is coming from the Volkswagen lawsuit settlement. Volkswagen cheated on emissions controls and has to pay out significant money to several states. The city is receiving a $1.9 million grant from those funds. The two new trucks will be $450,000 per vehicle, requiring an $894,000 loan. The first truck will arrive in April and the second in June. Once the cost of the garbage truck purchase is reimbursed to the city, the loan will be paid off, and the remaining grant funds will be used to buy three dump trucks.

In other business:

• The City Council also discussed limiting the timeframe when fireworks can be ignited. The proposed amendment to the fireworks ordinance would allow fireworks to be ignited during the same time frames that sales of fireworks are allowed within the city. Fireworks could not be lit between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., except on New Year’s Eve, which would allow fireworks until 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, and July 3 and 4, which would allow fireworks to be lit until midnight. The council approved publishing the proposed ordinance for public comment.
• A Socorro resident spoke during public comment about animal neglect and abuse and loose dogs running around areas where she’s lived in town. Mayor Ravi Bhasker asked the city’s animal control officer to meet with her and do more patrols in the area she’s living in.
• During public comment, Cuba Road resident Kenneth Bowden said he is concerned that the drainage work will leave the street too narrow. Dennis Engineering employees said that although the lanes are narrower at 9 feet wide, that was the width needed for the road to be a consistent width all the way down without trying to acquire land from property owners. Bowden also suggested knocking the top off the new barrier curbs, but the Dennis Engineering employees said the barrier curbs were chosen to help with drainage, so that water will be funneled into a ditch and off of the road.

If they change the scope of the project at this point, it could lose funding, which took a long time to acquire, said Bhasker.

• Two new police officers were introduced to the council.

The next council meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

New Business Registrations

The Council approved business registrations for the following:

• Peak Harvest Cannabis New Mexico LLC, a cannabis retail store located at 101 W. Manzanares.
• Lopez Construction, a construction and remodel business out of Lemitar.
• Outstanding Construction LLC, an Albuquerque based general contractor.
• Socorro Community Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy that will be located at 110 N. California St.
• BPW, an accounting, payroll, bookkeeping and tax prep business.
• JCR Electric, an electrical commercial and residential business out of Peralta.
• High Mountain Hunts of New Mexico, LLC, which is an out of town business with an address in Massillon, Ohio.