East Central Solid Waste Commission
Commission’s Office, Mora, MN
APPROVED MINUTES
April 10, 2023
The regular meeting of the East Central Solid Waste Commission was held on April 10, 2023 at East Central Solid Waste Commission Main Office, Mora, MN. Chairman Greene called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
Members present at the meeting included: Chisago County Commissioner Richard Greene, Isanti County Commissioner Bill Berg, Kanabec County Commissioner Alison Holland, Mille Lacs County Commissioner Phil Peterson and Pine County Commissioner Steve Hallan.
Advisory Member Present – Executive Director Janelle Troupe.
Others present at the meeting included: Assistant Director John Kellas, ECSWC, Bruce Rehwaldt, Foth, Lisa Thibodeau, Chisago County, Tracy Emerson, ECSWC.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All present said the Pledge of Allegiance
AGENDA APPROVAL
Addition to the Agenda – Claims list, Able Hose & Rubber, bill from February 2023 that we never received an invoice for, they finally sent it to us, $3,442.25.
Commissioner Hallan moved to approve the Agenda, second by Commissioner Peterson, all if favor, motion carried (5-0).
MEETING MINUTES FOR BOARD MEETING March 13, 2023
Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 second by Commissioner Holland, all in favor, motion carried (5-0).
CLAIMS
Commissioner Holland stated for Commissioner Hallan check, the description should state for February and March regular meeting, not just March.
Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the Claims List, Paid Claims List, the Additional Claims List, second by Commissioner Berg all in favor of paying the Claims List 50 items ($193,238.14), the additional claims 10 items ($35,969.31), the Paid Claims List 10 items ($234,137,72), Payroll 13 items ($128,890.69), all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
OLD BUSINESS
Certificate of Need
A TeamsMeeting was held including MPCA Staff, ECSWC Staff, and County Environmental Services Officers. Each County will be coming to their Board for approval of a letter in April. East Central Solid Waste will compile the information and submit CON Request to the MPCA. We are still waiting on letters from Chisago and Isanti Counties.
Directions from MPCA Staff:
- When the CON request is submitted and the counties give you their numbers/tonnages, the MSW, C&D and industrial all need to be listed separately. C&D can’t be included into the MSW numbers for capacity request, CON only applies to MSW. If the waste is being delivered mixed, then it would be all be CON. I am pondering if the high MSW rates, that have been tracked, compared to the solid waste plan GVT tonnages is due to the mixing of C&D with MSW.
- Any waste coming from out of state would need a letter with the same details as the county template. That letter would need to come from the solid waste authority (government) for where the waste is generated.
- Before a CON request is submitted or letters come from the counties and out of state, we need to make sure everyone is on the same page as to the contents of the CON request and how waste is categorized.
My comments: All tonnage is categorized as MSW at Transfer Stations and charged a .17 percent tax except Hauler that has indicated Tax Exempt as required. The only issue with C&D is at Mora Landfill and it affects mainly Kanabec, Pine, Mille Lacs. If we are going to separate out Industrial and C&D waste at our landfill, we should indicate on CON request.
ECSWC currently has two contract haulers that bring MSW from Wisconsin. Years back the Board was working at getting additional MSW because of Mille Lacs MSW going to Elk River Landfill. “Get the Waste,” was the agenda item. Holdt’s Disposal was the result of this effort bringing MSW from Burnett and Polk in Wisconsin. We need to know if we should be pursuing getting a letter from Wisconsin for this MSW.
FEBRUARY 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENT
For month ended February 28, 2023 the ECSWC realized a net loss on an accrual basis of $34,719. On a cash flow basis for the month of February there is an increase in cash of $121,343. Un-obligated cash less upcoming cash outlays at the end of the month was $3,391,909.
Reserve accounts for landfill expansion, hauler rebate, operating contingency and hot facility fund total $7,428,323.
Commissioner Hallan moved to approve the February 28, 2023 Financial Statements second by Commissioner Berg, all in favor, motion carried (5-0).
HAULER CONTRACTS
ECSWC used Hauler Contracts to secure our waste. MSW haulers are provided with a rebate for all garbage that they deliver to our facilities and they are required to bring all garbage from member counties to ECSWC.
The current Solid Waste Deliver Agreement expires December 31, 2023. A decision to contract with haulers needs to be made by the Board, the length of the agreement, if we are going to continue with current rules of agreement or make changes.
The plan is to not have a demo landfill after 2024. If we have a portion of our lined cell separated as demo/industrial, would we charge less for disposal in that area? Would we be providing for a rebate on that demo tonnage? Will that tonnage be part of our CON? Hopefully by our meeting, we will have more answers than questions.
It would be good to have these contracts out to Haulers by July 1, 2023. I will be requesting input from haulers and pass that information on to the Board.
I do not expect any action at Monday’s meeting.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Odor Complaint
There was one odor complaint since the last meeting.
Health Insurance
I am reviewing health insurance plans. It appears that several organizations have left MN PEIP so we will look into alternative as well. Please share any information about your County Health Insurance.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Assistant Director John Kellas stated how happy he is with the employee’s here. Last week we had an inspection of all the sites from the MPCA, and everything was great!
MAY MEETING DATE
The April Meeting is scheduled for Monday May 8, 2023 at 9:00 am at the ECSWC main office in Mora.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Greene asked for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Holland moved to adjourn the meeting at 10 am second by Commissioner Berg all in favor, motion carried (5-0).
Respectfully Submitted,
Tracy Emerson