BRODHEAD - Adding more members to its board will not improve the financial situation of the county's transfer station, according to the Green County Solid Waste Management Board.
Eight members present at the board meeting Thursday voted unanimously to decline the City of Monroe's request to obtain more representation on the board. Those present included city alderman Reid Stangel, president of the city's Board of Public Works, and Nate Klassy, both of Monroe. A third Monroe member, Brooke Bauman, was absent.
They are, however, asking - almost begging - the city for suggestions that could improve the facility financially, increase its business volume and lower costs to all its partners. The board has asked its chairman, Klassy, and station manager, Randy Thompson, to sit down with city officials to explain the operations of the facility to give them a better understanding upon which to make suggestions.
The board wants to know by Aug. 14 if Monroe will be a partner in the coming years.
The timing for that decision is thin for another municipal partner. Brodhead is beginning contract negotiations for a private hauler and wants to know whether to require use of the county transfer station in the new contract, according to board member Rich Vogel, who is director of Brodhead's Public Works. The city can't expect the contractor to abide by the same negotiated prices if the county transfer station doesn't exist, he said.
The board spent about an hour discussing the financial challenges the transfer station faces, due mostly to low volume use, and Monroe Common Council's response to the 5-year participation agreement the board is now offering to municipalities. The city council had voted unanimously July 1 to inquire about getting more representation on the waste management board to equal the city's 54 percent usage of the facility - and shouldering 54 percent of the monthly costs. County Clerk Mike Doyle presented the city's request sent by letter from City Administrator Phil Rath.
The current waste management board is comprised of 11 representatives, nine of which were chosen by the county board of supervisors chairman, Art Carter, from elected supervisors and citizens and two of which must be, by county ordinance, the City of Monroe Council president and Board of Public Works president or a mayor-appointed substitute.
In his letter, Rath outlined that an equal-to-usage share of seats on the board would be 6 of the 11. But, given his understanding of the concern about replacing current members, he also recommended increasing the number of board seats to 19, with Monroe filling 10.
The increased number of seats still would not give six Green County participating municipalities a seat at the table. The towns of Monroe, Sylvester, Mt. Pleasant, and Spring Grove, and the villages of Albany and Monticello have no representatives but have a total usage of 12.7 percent combined. Other unrepresented users of the facility are the county offices, 1.3 percent; and Town of Avon, Rock County, 0.5 percent.
Harvey Mandel, a county board supervisor, said county committees usually have no more than five people, and Klassy noted a local, multi-million dollar corporation has only six board members.
According to Doyle, the city by law cannot appoint people to a county board or committee. But he also added that he has never seen Carter turn down any requests for an appointment.
Klassy said he would be willing to vacate his seat if the city has been unhappy with his performance, but, in exchange, to keep the station open, he wants the city to institute an ordinance requiring all trash from within the city boundaries be delivered to the county transfer station, which would become a condition of granting private trash haulers' licenses. He would want also the city to sign a 5-year contract, with an automatic renewal, with the transfer station. The automatic renewal could be stopped with an advanced notice by the city.
Stangel said the city has talked about such an ordinance, but the issue has not been brought forward in a while.
"But I don't see you having to resign," he added.
Other board members at the meeting joined Stangel in objecting to Klassy resigning, noting his long history of experience with the station operations and in public works.
Mandell said he understood Klassy's point and would himself step aside, it if meant the transfer station would continue to operate.
"I don't want to see this place close down," he added.
Some members noted the value of the station for victims of recent storms, who, they said, had no other place to take their building debris. Others suspect the City of Monroe wastewater treatment plant may need to bring its excess cake to the transfer station: Cake is a pudding-like substance remaining from water purification processes and it is building up since the recent, excessive rains and Department of Natural Resources' regulations for spreading the fertilizing compound.
Stangel said that people do not "know the value of this place." He expressed concerns about losing competition in the private market and needing to "drag" trash to Winnebago County or Janesville.
"It's a loss-loss situation to have to drag it" to a place outside the county, he said.
While there is a basis for focusing on "the dollars and cents" of the issue, Stangel said, it "hasn't emphasized the value of the service. It's a valuable service."
The board postponed discussion on increasing out-of-area rates until it has better knowledge of its partners' agreement participation.
Absent were Bauman, Ray Francois and Steve Stettler.
Eight members present at the board meeting Thursday voted unanimously to decline the City of Monroe's request to obtain more representation on the board. Those present included city alderman Reid Stangel, president of the city's Board of Public Works, and Nate Klassy, both of Monroe. A third Monroe member, Brooke Bauman, was absent.
They are, however, asking - almost begging - the city for suggestions that could improve the facility financially, increase its business volume and lower costs to all its partners. The board has asked its chairman, Klassy, and station manager, Randy Thompson, to sit down with city officials to explain the operations of the facility to give them a better understanding upon which to make suggestions.
The board wants to know by Aug. 14 if Monroe will be a partner in the coming years.
The timing for that decision is thin for another municipal partner. Brodhead is beginning contract negotiations for a private hauler and wants to know whether to require use of the county transfer station in the new contract, according to board member Rich Vogel, who is director of Brodhead's Public Works. The city can't expect the contractor to abide by the same negotiated prices if the county transfer station doesn't exist, he said.
The board spent about an hour discussing the financial challenges the transfer station faces, due mostly to low volume use, and Monroe Common Council's response to the 5-year participation agreement the board is now offering to municipalities. The city council had voted unanimously July 1 to inquire about getting more representation on the waste management board to equal the city's 54 percent usage of the facility - and shouldering 54 percent of the monthly costs. County Clerk Mike Doyle presented the city's request sent by letter from City Administrator Phil Rath.
The current waste management board is comprised of 11 representatives, nine of which were chosen by the county board of supervisors chairman, Art Carter, from elected supervisors and citizens and two of which must be, by county ordinance, the City of Monroe Council president and Board of Public Works president or a mayor-appointed substitute.
In his letter, Rath outlined that an equal-to-usage share of seats on the board would be 6 of the 11. But, given his understanding of the concern about replacing current members, he also recommended increasing the number of board seats to 19, with Monroe filling 10.
The increased number of seats still would not give six Green County participating municipalities a seat at the table. The towns of Monroe, Sylvester, Mt. Pleasant, and Spring Grove, and the villages of Albany and Monticello have no representatives but have a total usage of 12.7 percent combined. Other unrepresented users of the facility are the county offices, 1.3 percent; and Town of Avon, Rock County, 0.5 percent.
Harvey Mandel, a county board supervisor, said county committees usually have no more than five people, and Klassy noted a local, multi-million dollar corporation has only six board members.
According to Doyle, the city by law cannot appoint people to a county board or committee. But he also added that he has never seen Carter turn down any requests for an appointment.
Klassy said he would be willing to vacate his seat if the city has been unhappy with his performance, but, in exchange, to keep the station open, he wants the city to institute an ordinance requiring all trash from within the city boundaries be delivered to the county transfer station, which would become a condition of granting private trash haulers' licenses. He would want also the city to sign a 5-year contract, with an automatic renewal, with the transfer station. The automatic renewal could be stopped with an advanced notice by the city.
Stangel said the city has talked about such an ordinance, but the issue has not been brought forward in a while.
"But I don't see you having to resign," he added.
Other board members at the meeting joined Stangel in objecting to Klassy resigning, noting his long history of experience with the station operations and in public works.
Mandell said he understood Klassy's point and would himself step aside, it if meant the transfer station would continue to operate.
"I don't want to see this place close down," he added.
Some members noted the value of the station for victims of recent storms, who, they said, had no other place to take their building debris. Others suspect the City of Monroe wastewater treatment plant may need to bring its excess cake to the transfer station: Cake is a pudding-like substance remaining from water purification processes and it is building up since the recent, excessive rains and Department of Natural Resources' regulations for spreading the fertilizing compound.
Stangel said that people do not "know the value of this place." He expressed concerns about losing competition in the private market and needing to "drag" trash to Winnebago County or Janesville.
"It's a loss-loss situation to have to drag it" to a place outside the county, he said.
While there is a basis for focusing on "the dollars and cents" of the issue, Stangel said, it "hasn't emphasized the value of the service. It's a valuable service."
The board postponed discussion on increasing out-of-area rates until it has better knowledge of its partners' agreement participation.
Absent were Bauman, Ray Francois and Steve Stettler.