Waste-to-energy facility design contract
At a glance
- What: AM 694-2026 recommends awarding a professional design services contract to HDR Inc. for the municipal waste-to-energy facility.
- Outcome: approved on the consent agenda after being pulled, by unanimous consent (recorded as 11-0 with one recused member).
- Concern raised: McCormick noted the Assembly approved $8 million for the project in April 2025 and asked what the extra roughly $700,000 covers, how much has been spent, and when ratepayers will see a cost. Estimates rose from $550 million (April 2025) to $750 million (May 2026) and the memo now says "to be determined". Administration staff said the $8 million was an appropriation and this is spending from it, promised an accounting, and said a plan of finance is due in the spring, informed by waste volume and contaminated-soil studies.
- Baldwin Day pointed members to the Aug 20 committee meeting video for a fuller overview.
Conflict of interest
- Handeland disclosed he worked for HDR less than a year ago and still owns stock; the chair found a substantial interest and he stepped out. The same applied to a separate HDR design contract for the downtown transit center, approved the same night.
Sources
- Video: 2026-10-20 - Assembly Regular (about 1:39:40 to 1:45:39; disclosure at 53:49)
- Agenda: 2026-10-20 - Assembly Regular, https://meetings.muni.org/AgendaOnline/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=6590&doctype=1
Discussion time
About 6 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 - Assembly Regular | 6 |
Log
- 2026-10-20 - 2026-10-20 - Assembly Regular: AM 694-2026 approved without objection after McCormick's cost questions; Handeland recused.