The second round of bids are in as the Powell City Council moves closer to deciding where the city will haul its municipal solid waste (MSW).

City officials opened three bids for hauling services on Thursday. Dick Jones Trucking, and Tri-Bell Industries, Inc., both of Powell, and PAB Good Trucking, LLC, of Greybull, submitted offers to the city. The firms were asked for quotes on hauling the MSW to both the Park County Landfill in Powell and the Casper Regional Landfill.

Dick Jones submitted the lowest bid for hauling to Cody, offering to take the city-owned trailer to Cody for $270 per trip for one year. It did not submit quotes for a three-year or six-year contract.

Tri-Bell offered a price of $532 per load for one year, $546 over three years and $573 over a six-year period.

PAB submitted a bid of $650 for one year, $715 for three years and $767 for six years.

The prices were much higher, of course, for hauling the MSW to Casper. Powell City Administrator Zane Logan noted there is about a 400-mile difference round-trip, with Casper being about 460 miles round-trip, while Cody is less than 60.

Tri-Bell offered the lowest prices for the Casper trip, quoting a price of $1,037 per trip in the first year, $1,063 for three years and $1,116 for six years.

Dick Jones once again only submitted a bid for one year, and offered to take the MSW to Casper for $1,200 per trip.

PAB had the same quote for a one-year deal, but increased it to $1,320 per trip for a three-year agreement and $1,416 for six years.

Before the council can act on these offers, first it must decide where it wants to take the garbage.

In December, the Park County Landfill and the Casper Regional Landfill sent in proposals. The Casper one offered several options, which included, as a separate option, an estimate on the price of hauling. But since Casper did not submit a formal bid, they are no longer eligible for that part of the contract, Logan said.

The Park County bid did not include a hauling price.

Proposal A in the Casper bid calls for Powell to pay $293,000 over a five-year period, which Logan termed a fee for joining an association. It would then be charged $37 per ton for a tipping fee, with a promise that Powell would always pay the same rate as Natrona County clients.

If Powell would decide to contract with Casper but not pay the upfront fee, it would be charged $48.10 per ton. That’s a 30-percent surcharge over the base $37 fee charged to Natrona County customers.

The Park County bid was $72 per ton over a six-year contract; $78 a ton over three years; $90 per ton for a one-year deal and $100 per ton for disposal without a contract.

The county contract does not include hauling.

Powell city officials will meet with the Park County Commission and Cody officials at 3 p.m. today (Tuesday) at the old law library in the Park County Courthouse. The landfill issue is the sole topic on the agenda, Logan said.

He said he is hoping that Park County will recognize the cost of transportation in addition to the tipping fees.

He said city staff will compile all the facts and figures and present a spreadsheet to the council, most likely at one of the two meetings in February.

“We have tried to do this structurally so we have the information we need to make a decision,” Logan said.

Currently, Powell is contracting with Big Horn County on a $78 per ton charge, with the city hauling the MSW. That contract will end in January, but Logan said the city will be able to take its trash there until a new contract is reached with either Park County or Casper.

He said the council may decide to sign a short-term contract with both a landfill and a firm to haul the MSW. In that case, other options, including the landfill in Billings, Mont., could be considered.

“It’s up to the council and mayor to decide that,” Logan said.