Marblehead board suggests 30 percent reduction in transfer station cost

MARBLEHEAD – The Transfer Station Building Committee is so far recommending a 30 percent reduction in the cost of the $22.2 million transfer station construction project, according to committee chairman Matthew Herring.Herring, a Finance Committee member, told the Board of Health that the committee isn?t finished studying the plans for the transfer station project, which was defeated in a June 15 debt exclusion override.?We?d like to see it reduced more,” Herring said. “We believe that going into the construction phase that number can be reduced another 6-9 percent. I don?t think we?ll reach 50 percent but I think we will reach 36 percent.”The reductions would reduce the original cost by $6-$7 million, making this year?s cost $15-$16 million.Herring told the board members that the cost reductions would result in “minimal changes in services and capacity.”The committee was instructed to evaluate and determine the design of the transfer station, with an eye toward cost needs and practicality, and will present recommendations at the May 2 Town Meeting.In their conversations with consultant Stephen Wright, who designed the project, the committee has identified savings in steel, concrete and pavement.Herring said the committee is preparing a Town Meeting presentation that will be “short and to the point,” describing the reductions, how they were made and what happens if it doesn?t pass.The town is under a state order to close and cap its landfill and the transfer station is being rebuilt because once the landfill is capped such a project will be extremely difficult.