Commercial contractors who need crushed concrete or asphalt for projects now know how much the City of Moose Jaw will charge to purchase the material from its yards.
During the Aug. 9 regular meeting, council voted 6-1 to sell crushed concrete at $26 per tonne and crushed asphalt at $28 per tonne. Council also agreed to set the commercial selling price for standard tandem truckloads at $234 for crushed concrete and $280 for crushed asphalt.
Coun. Jamey Logan was opposed.
Large quantities
In November 2019, city hall estimated 18,000 cubic metres (9,200 tonnes) of concrete and 8,000 cubic metres (3,600 tonnes) of asphalt at the city yards based on a survey from May.
In October 2020, the city added 25,000 tonnes of concrete and 7,500 tonnes of asphalt to the yards.
City hall did not have a current estimate of available quantities but believed most materials were still on site. While the municipality has not sold anything yet — hence why this issue came to council — it has used some material for maintenance programs.
City hall expects to generate $625,000 for the crushed concrete and $210,000 for the crushed asphalt, for total possible revenue of $835,000.
Too much to use
“… the quantities received through this initiative far exceed what the city can use for its own operations. This is a valuable product that can be used for many purposes, such as gravel road and back lane maintenance, parking lot maintenance (and) road-building base,” a council report said.
A previous report indicated 18 years’ worth of crushed aggregate and seven years’ worth of crushed asphalt is available.
The Department of Public Works and Utilities based its suggestions for price per tonne on what the City of Regina charges for its aggregate.
The aggregate materials are located at the city yard at 1010 High Street West, but the weigh scale there is no longer certified due to age and lack of parts, while the only certified scale in Moose Jaw is at the landfill, the report said.
City hall expects most customers to use standard tandem trucks with a capacity of roughly 9.5 tonnes for concrete and 10.5 tonnes for asphalt. Also, city crews will use a front-end loader to load all trucks, which should address overloading.
Revenue from sales will go into the solid waste utility reserve.
Council discussion
Darrin Stephanson, director of public works and utilities, told council that his department did not compare aggregate prices to any other community other than Regina. While many municipalities are engaged in similar activities, Regina is the nearest competitor, so it was important to have similar prices.
“It is not virgin material … so it is slightly below those (newer material) rates but above the costs for us to crush it,” he added, “so that’s how we arrived at its value.”
Logan was concerned that council was stepping on the toes of certain businesses in Moose Jaw — Cypress Paving in particular — that also use this type of material, while he thought the price per tonne should be higher — $30 — so the city didn’t gouge anyone.
Council is free to set whatever prices it wants, but city administration picked those costs based on what would encourage sales, said Stephanson.
“The inventory is worth nothing if it sits in our yards,” he added.
Coun. Heather Eby thought it was great that the sales could generate over $800,000 in revenue since it would go to the solid waste utility reserve and ensure residents didn’t have to contribute through taxes.
Council often hears that prices for materials are lower in Regina, so increasing the price per tonne would only drive more people there, said Coun. Kim Robinson. Meanwhile, Cypress Paving receives plenty of contract work from city hall, which is likely its main source of income versus selling higher-priced aggregate stone.
The next regular council meeting is Monday. Aug. 23.
