The Town of Sylvan Lake will soon be disposing of waste in a new way, hardly used outside of Europe.
At a recent meeting of Town Council, it was decided Sylvan Lake will move forward with the contract with Fogdog Energy Solutions Inc.
All that remains to be done before things are official is the signing of the Master Services Agreement and the Facility Ground Lease Agreement by the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Wally Ferris.
According to the motion carried by Council, Ferris will finalize “non-substation details” of the contacts when signing.
Town Council authorized Ferris to finalize and sign the document which will effectively approve the construction and operation of the no landfill facility.
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The Town has been working towards this point with the company currently based out of Calgary since December 2017, when preliminary discussions first began.
In order to get the required licenses, permits and approvals Fogdog requested the contract be signed by the end of 2018.
The company’s investors require a signed agreement be in place in order to hire consultants needed to make applications to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP).
Jean Bernes, a representative from Fogdog in sales and marketing, says the company won’t know what will be expected from the company by AEP until they begin the process.
It is expected Fogdog will begin to make the applications necessary to AEP once the agreements have been signed by both parties.
Fogdog believes it will take roughly 18 months to acquire the appropriate permits and licenses from the Alberta Government.
Once the company acquires all the appropriate paperwork as required by both the Town and provincial government, the company says it should take about six months to get the facility up and running.
Bernes expects the no landfill facility to be operational by October 2020.
The terms of the agreement include an initial term of 15 years, with the option to renew the agreement in five year agreements.
The original agreement had a “unilateral termination clause” which meant the Town could terminate the agreement with reasonable notice. This term was rejected by Fogdog as it put the company’s “significant capital investment at risk.”
Also included in the terms of agreement is the requirement for Fogdog to develop the land at Waste Transfer Site for the facility, provide repair to 30 Street at their cost and pay a month lease equal to $4,500 per acre of land.
In return the Town will dispose of all waste within their control to Fogdog and pay an “annual availability payment” for the first 10 years. The amount is estimated to be 10 per cent of the cost to Fogdog to develop the site, utility servicing and road repair.
The Town is estimating this cost will be at $40,000 per year, but won’t be known until the improvements have been completed.
Rodd Thorkelsson, a lawyer from Brownlee LLP representing the Town, said the risk to the Town is very minimal.
He says Fogdog must obtain the proper permits within 18 months of the contract being signed, or the Town has the option to terminate the agreement.
They must then begin collecting good and providing services within two years of the contract being signed.
The next step, according to the Town, will be for Fogdog to begin the application process to AEP while also developing a detailed design of the no landfill facility for approval.
Construction of the Fogdog facility will begin after designs have been approved and approval have been given by AEP.