The city of Selma will do a little early spring-cleaning at the site of the landfill on Jeff Davis Avenue.

After recently approving a $110,000 bid from Smitherman Brothers Construction to begin a remediation project, the council also voted to approve a contract for inspections by CDG Engineers & Associates Inc.

The contract with CDG includes $12,725 to provide a full-time inspector to ensure the project meets requirements set forth by ADEM.

CDG project engineer Sarah Sightler attended the special meeting to discuss some of the things that need to be done to close the door on the project.

Simply closing the landfill, Sighler said, is not an option.

“Just because you close a landfill doesn’t mean you can just lock the gate and walk away,” she said. “It is a long-term commitment and ADEM actually requires a 30-year post closure responsibility by the city.”

Many of the issues facing the city and the landfill, Sightler said, are general maintenance.

“Landfills are notorious for being hard to put grass on them,” she said. “Landfill naturally settle and hold water and that’s a big thing ADEM looks for.  Those have to be addressed and filled. It really just requires a monthly — if not more frequent — walk through.”