Field Narrows for Hamilton Landfill Engineering Firms

The field of engineering firms vying for the contract to assess and design the $2 million cap on the old Hamilton landfill was narrowed down to three on Thursday. Those three firms may be interviewed next Friday.

The Hamilton Landfill Steering Committee eliminated two firms this week because their bids were substantially higher than the others.

Still in the running for the project - that includes planning and site assessment for capping the two cells of old landfill - are Weston & Sampson, Woodward & Curran and CDM.

Out of contention are Sanborn Head and Stantec, whose bids were each more than double the others.

The project is divided into three tasks. The first is to assess the current caps on the cells and help the town design a plan for fixing any issues with the larger cell and capping the smaller cell.

The second task is to provide what Town Manager Michael Lombardo called “a feasibility” study on the town acquiring an anaerobic digester.

And the third task is continue monitoring the landfill for possible leakage.

The bids for the three tasks ranged from the lowest by Weston & Sampson at $122,360 to CDM's $185,206. Woodward & Curran bid $166,100.

The committee wants to ask each contender to give more detail on how it reached its estimates.

Each will have an hour to meet with the committee.

The town, like many in the state, . Town Meeting voters .

As part of the work, the town is looking at the site to determine if it can generate revenue through an anaerobic digester, which could produce revenue for the town government, and by using the site to generate alternative energy with solar panels and possibly a wind turbine.

The landfill site, located off Chebacco Road near the Manchester-by-the-Sea townline, comprises about 12 acres.

The town stopped receiving trash from Hamilton and Wenham in 1983.