Solid Waste Committee Issues Report

The Solid Waste Committee formed by the Jasper County Commission has completed its study and will issue a report to the commissioners at their next meeting which is scheduled for Monday, July 6, at 6 p.m.

Originally the commissioners were meeting today, June 25, to approve the budget and adopt the millage, but that meeting has been changed to Monday, July 6.

The first part of the report concerns the fiber removal and pond mediation, and the commissioners have already agreed with the committee’s recommendation and is preparing to bid the project out. Engineering has begun to develop a request for proposals (RFP) for removal of the fiber. The committee recommends that funding from curbside be used to finance the solution.

The committee noted that $350,000 had been budgeted for the project, but there is no indication if that will be ample.

The second part of the report concerns the committee’s recommendation for landfill operation. The committee recommends that the curbside and landfill be combined as one department. The net operating loss at the landfill is anticipated to be $70,434. The average annual profit for curbside is $116,134. The result of combining the two departments would be a net profit of $45,700 on normal operating expenses, the report said.

The committee also recommends that the expense accounting should be more detailed so that costs between the C&D landfill and the sanitary landfill could more accurately be determined.

Another concern of the committee was the rapid increase in administration fees for curbside. The committee was told administration for curbside in 2013 was $9,657 and in 2015, it is $40,000.

The committee also recommends that any money realized in the solid waste fund (which would be the combination of curbside and landfill) be used for cell expansion or closure/post closure. If $45,700 net profit could be maintained, it would generate $1,371,000 over 30 years.

The Solid Waste Committee was made up of Mike McClanahan, Lynn Bentley, Sam Cowan, J. Ross Hays, Paul LeDoux, Warren Camp and Marion Whitlow. They were citizen volunteers, and several had some type of experience with landfills.

With their report, they say they feel it completes their charge, but they are available if needed.