Early in his nearly completed 12 years as a commissioner, Lee Livingston recalled being told the Park County Landfill would be needing a new cell before too long.

Now, that time has come.

At the June 18 Park County Commission meeting, Livingston and the other commissioners voted to approve the low bid of just over $841,000 for a company out of Meeker, Oklahoma, to perform the crucial lining work needed to prepare a new cell, which provides a new waste-holding unit within the site. Patriot Environmental Services was one of eight companies, all from other states, to bid on the project.

“We did get a lot of interest,” Park County Engineer Brian Edwards said. “All of the bids were lower than my estimate, which never happens. I’m happy with how close they all are. Very tight bidding, very competitive.”

A landfill liner generally includes a layer of compacted clay, overlaid by a high-density polyethylene geomembrane.

Commissioners also approved the lone bid of $1.1 million from Nicholson Dirt Contracting of Cody to do the necessary dirt work.

Edwards said they reached out to a number of regional companies for bids but he suspected most didn’t think it was worthwhile for them to do. He said while in some circumstances having only one bidder would be an issue, his experience with Nicholson makes him confident the work will be done well.

“They do a great job and they’ve given us a fair price,” he said.