MONROE - About 15 Green County municipalities need to determine the future of the county landfill facility before their contract agreements come to an end in the spring of 2013, and they are just getting started.
More than 40 township, city and village officials and residents met with the Solid Waste Management Board Thursday at the Green County Courthouse.
Also attending were several representatives of Veolia Environmental Services, a private trash collection company, which, as of Dec. 26, no longer uses the county transfer station, commonly called the county landfill, for much of its dumping.
Garbage and recyclables are sorted at the facility, and trash is then taken to a landfill in Janesville.
But Veolia's decision to take the trash it collects from municipal and private contracts to a private landfill near Darien resulted in a 70-percent reduction of business at the landfill, which is now forcing the members to act - either in unison or to disband.
"The primary objective (of the meeting) was to give out information and to get feedback," said Nate Klassy, board chairman. "And I think that's what happened."
Klassy and other board members are now looking for even more information from members, who themselves are looking for more information from the board.
Klassy said he hopes to have more solid numbers and cost figures at the next board meeting in February to help members see the expenses involved to keep the facility running, and the perpetual cost if it shuts down.
Many of questions from attendees at the meeting Thursday rested on "what-if" scenarios, while legal counsels from the City of Monroe, Green County and Veolia began, but did not settle, questions of definitions in the municipalities' contracts.
Some smaller municipalities are dependent upon the landfill.
Steve Graber, Monticello board president, said closing the county landfill facility would be "detrimental" to the village, which runs its own trash collection trucks.
"We certainly want to see the transfer station stay open, because we need a place to go," he said.
Officials from the villages of New Glarus and Albany, the Town of Monroe, and even Green County itself said they had agreements with private trash collection companies to take their trash to the landfill, but were unaware it was being redirected outside the county.
Some of those officials said they had reiterated the requirement with their companies, but Randy Thompson, the Green County landfill manager, said he was aware of only trash collected in Albany by private companies coming to the landfill.
The City of Monroe hires city employees to pick up residential trash, while the Village of New Glarus contracts with Veolia; both municipalities' administrators, Nic Owen of New Glarus and Phil Rath of Monroe, said their trash goes to the Green County landfill.
But third-party vendor contracts are a problem, they say.
"We're in the same position as (Monroe)," Owen said. "We don't know if we can dictate where they take trash from private contracts."
Brian Bucholtz, the county's attorney, said municipalities can dictate where their trash is taken, and interprets their landfill contract agreements to mean all trash from the member municipalities must go the landfill.
Bucholtz believes Veolia didn't realize that their change of landfills would create violations in the local municipalities' agreements.
Rex Ewald, Monroe city attorney, said the contract wording does not compel private entities to use the county landfill.
Trash from Monroe has in the past contributed about 50 percent of the landfill business, but how much of that came from Veolia's commercial trash pickup within the city is still unknown.
The impact on Monroe's trash on the landfill's budget - and future - needs further discussion.
"I'm afraid that, as Monroe goes, so goes the landfill," said Mayor Bill Ross.
Ross said he is recommending the city council as a whole, and not just a committee, meet to work out its decision on the landfill. But the council needs hard facts and figures, he added.
Besides the municipalities, more than 5,400 individual county residents used the landfill per year in both 2010 and 2011.
"My point of concern is those 5,400 people who can't go to Janesville, or other private landfills," said County Clerk Mike Doyle. "My other concern, once the transfer station goes away, what will building contractors use? Where do they go?"
And one more question, what happens to the items private collectors don't pick up, like tires?
They'll "end up in our ditches," said Harvey Mandel, board member.
More than 40 township, city and village officials and residents met with the Solid Waste Management Board Thursday at the Green County Courthouse.
Also attending were several representatives of Veolia Environmental Services, a private trash collection company, which, as of Dec. 26, no longer uses the county transfer station, commonly called the county landfill, for much of its dumping.
Garbage and recyclables are sorted at the facility, and trash is then taken to a landfill in Janesville.
But Veolia's decision to take the trash it collects from municipal and private contracts to a private landfill near Darien resulted in a 70-percent reduction of business at the landfill, which is now forcing the members to act - either in unison or to disband.
"The primary objective (of the meeting) was to give out information and to get feedback," said Nate Klassy, board chairman. "And I think that's what happened."
Klassy and other board members are now looking for even more information from members, who themselves are looking for more information from the board.
Klassy said he hopes to have more solid numbers and cost figures at the next board meeting in February to help members see the expenses involved to keep the facility running, and the perpetual cost if it shuts down.
Many of questions from attendees at the meeting Thursday rested on "what-if" scenarios, while legal counsels from the City of Monroe, Green County and Veolia began, but did not settle, questions of definitions in the municipalities' contracts.
Some smaller municipalities are dependent upon the landfill.
Steve Graber, Monticello board president, said closing the county landfill facility would be "detrimental" to the village, which runs its own trash collection trucks.
"We certainly want to see the transfer station stay open, because we need a place to go," he said.
Officials from the villages of New Glarus and Albany, the Town of Monroe, and even Green County itself said they had agreements with private trash collection companies to take their trash to the landfill, but were unaware it was being redirected outside the county.
Some of those officials said they had reiterated the requirement with their companies, but Randy Thompson, the Green County landfill manager, said he was aware of only trash collected in Albany by private companies coming to the landfill.
The City of Monroe hires city employees to pick up residential trash, while the Village of New Glarus contracts with Veolia; both municipalities' administrators, Nic Owen of New Glarus and Phil Rath of Monroe, said their trash goes to the Green County landfill.
But third-party vendor contracts are a problem, they say.
"We're in the same position as (Monroe)," Owen said. "We don't know if we can dictate where they take trash from private contracts."
Brian Bucholtz, the county's attorney, said municipalities can dictate where their trash is taken, and interprets their landfill contract agreements to mean all trash from the member municipalities must go the landfill.
Bucholtz believes Veolia didn't realize that their change of landfills would create violations in the local municipalities' agreements.
Rex Ewald, Monroe city attorney, said the contract wording does not compel private entities to use the county landfill.
Trash from Monroe has in the past contributed about 50 percent of the landfill business, but how much of that came from Veolia's commercial trash pickup within the city is still unknown.
The impact on Monroe's trash on the landfill's budget - and future - needs further discussion.
"I'm afraid that, as Monroe goes, so goes the landfill," said Mayor Bill Ross.
Ross said he is recommending the city council as a whole, and not just a committee, meet to work out its decision on the landfill. But the council needs hard facts and figures, he added.
Besides the municipalities, more than 5,400 individual county residents used the landfill per year in both 2010 and 2011.
"My point of concern is those 5,400 people who can't go to Janesville, or other private landfills," said County Clerk Mike Doyle. "My other concern, once the transfer station goes away, what will building contractors use? Where do they go?"
And one more question, what happens to the items private collectors don't pick up, like tires?
They'll "end up in our ditches," said Harvey Mandel, board member.