Creative planning make chipper, salt storage facilities reality
By KERRI BARTLETT
For Brentwood Home Page
With little fanfare, cooperation between city departments and an easy change order to an existing city contract, a long-held dream of the city is about to become reality. A chipper material and transfer site will be constructed at the Brentwood Service Center on General George Patton Drive.

Some residents who reside close to the new Marcella Vivrette Smith Park are relieved that discussion about the construction of a Brush Recycling Environmental Area (BREA) at the park is officially over.  

According to assistant city manager Kirk Bednar, one of the most significant outcomes of the Brentwood City Commission’s vote Monday is that the city will now be able to “eliminate one of our greatest inefficiencies”  -- the 55-mile, two-hour round trip the city’s chipper crews travel to unload their trucks at the southwest Williamson County landfill multiple times each week.

The city provides chipper service to residents, picking up lawn waste, trees and limbs once a month.

Four Star Paving will start constructing the new chipper facility immediately. Although the project was not factored into the 2012 budget, savings from another project will pay for the $140,000 facility’s construction.

When Bednar and Public Works Director Jeff Donegan determined that the Smith Park plan was not workable, they began researching other options. They concluded that a smaller facility at the Service Center would meet the city’s needs. The city’s brush trucks currently operate out of the center. As well, Bednar said the more industrial location at the southern end of the city is a more appropriate choice.

During a public hearing on the proposed Marcella Vivrette Smith Park master plan Monday night, Inglehame resident Sheree Wright voiced that she and other residents appreciated the board’s decisions and felt heard.

Bednar thanked Police Chief Ricky Watson for his willingness to allow the city to take over 30 to 40 percent of its auto impoundment lot area to build the BREA facility.

In another action Monday night, the commission approved the construction of a salt storage building at Safety Center East on Sunset Road.

Because the lowest bids submitted for the salt storage project came in significantly over budget, Bednar and Donegan  explored other options, including negotiating with Four Star Paving which was already under contract with the city.

The company devised a proposal that included subcontractors to assist in the building’s construction which resulted in about $135,000 savings. The current project will cost $230,000, instead of the lowest previous bid of $365,000.

The commission also discussed the possibility of purchasing an extra supply of salt in anticipation of treacherous conditions during the winter.

 “I believe that the final solutions are acceptable and workable for everyone,” Bednar told the commission. “Both projects are designed to improve the efficiency of both services significantly.”