East Central Solid Waste Commission
Commission’s Office, Mora MN
APPROVED MINUTES
December 12, 2022
The regular meeting of the East Central Solid Waste Commission was held on December 12, 2022 at East Central Solid Waste Commission office. Chairman Greene called the meeting to order at 9:00am.
Members present at the meeting included: Chisago County Commissioner Richard Greene, Isanti County Commissioner Dave Oslund, Kanabec County Commissioner Dennis McNally, Mille Lacs County Commissioner Phil Peterson, and Pine County Commissioner Steve Hallan.
Advisory Member Present – Executive Director Janelle Troupe.
Others also present at the meeting included: John Kellas from ECSWC, Gene Kramer from Arthur Township, Lisa Thibodeau from Chisago Co, Bruce Rehwaldt from Foth, and Tracy Emerson from ECSWC.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All present said the Pledge of Allegiance
AGENDA APPROVAL
Additions to Claims, Blaine Brothers invoice for $816.42.
Commissioner Hallan moved to approved the Agenda and the additions, second by Commissioner Oslund, all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
MEETING MINUTES FOR BOARD MEETING November 14, 2022
Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the Meeting Minutes November 10, 2022 second by Commissioner McNally all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
CLAIMS
Commissioner Hallan moved to approve the Claims List, Paid Claims List, the Additional Claims List, second by Commissioner Oslund all in favor of paying the Claims List 44 items ($171,497.72), the additional claims 10 items ($52,582.74), the Paid Claims List 16 items ($18,209.48), Payroll 12 items ($208,641.08), all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
OLD BUSINESS
RADIO’S
REQUESTED ACTION:
Discuss leasing radios for staff. If the Board wishes to enter into a 4-year lease, a formal motion will need to be made.
John Kellas will provide the Board with information on leasing radios. The initial cost on Quote 136000228 is $5,433.77 with payments monthly of $650 for four years. Total cost comes to $31,200 plus $5,433.77 or $36,633.77.
Shawn Vance, Account Manager, Granite Electronics
Attached are 2 quotes and 2 airtime/lease agreements. Quote 136000227 reflects the charges for you to purchase the 7 new radios, upgrade your current portables and the installation services. The excel document ending in Radio Purchase would be the monthly recurring charges for airtime for all 22 radios to operate on our system if you were to purchase the 7 new radios. Quote 136000228 reflects the charges for us to install the 7 new radios. The excel document ending in Lease Option would be the monthly recurring charges for airtime for all 22 radios and the lease of the 7 mobiles. The lease would be for a duration of 4 years. At the end of it you do see a greater discount on the radios with the purchase option, but we just want to do what is best for our customer. The installs would take place at your location and all that we would ask would be for an indoor location of the vehicle (if possible) during the installation. Of course, if you have any questions or need further clarification on any of this please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Assistant Director Kellas stated he has tested these radios and they work great. We tested every mile between transfer stations and no dead spots. These radios will provide communication for everyone to hear, whether in a truck, at a transfer station, landfill or office for better safety and communication for all.
The board decided to add the quote for the purchase of the equipment at $12,950.02 then going into a 4-year contract for the airtime per radio at $5,280 per year to the 2023 budget and make the final decision in 2023.
Commissioner Hallan moved to add the quote for the purchase of the radios plus the 4-year contract for airtime into the budget for 2023, second by Commissioner Peterson, all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
2023 Budget
REQUESTED ACTION:
Final Approval of 2023 Budget
The 2023 Budget is based on 110,000 tons MSW being delivered to ECSWC sites.
We do plan to do a closure of a portion of the landfill in 2023.
The costs for the EAW, being completed by Foth, for the landfill.
We do plan to do some building upgrades to provide for a better maintenance service area.
We have an International Truck to be paid for that was ordered in 2021.
Changes to the budget for the radios is as follows – $12,950.02 added to the Capital Expenditures, and $5,280 added as an expense.
The Accrual Budget is showing Income of $8,171,400 and Total Expenses of $7,727,712. The end result is an Accrual Net Income of $442,888. The Cash Net Income is $1,904,815 with $400,000 being put in Reserve Funds, and Capital Expenditures for the year being $1,477,950; this leaves unobligated cash of $39,815 for the year.
Commissioner Hallan moved to approve the 2023 Budget with the addition of the radios second by Commissioner Peterson all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
Public Comment
Bruce Rehwaldt from Foth stated he contacted Barry about the flare issue and the money we were requesting him to pay. While he did admit he ordered the wrong part, he did order and send the correct part, and received the wrong ones back damaged, so he was also out money and does not feel he needs to pay.
OCTOBER 2022 FINANCIAL STATEMENT
For month ended October 31, 2022 the ECSWC realized a net income on an accrual basis of $278,645. On a cash flow basis for the month of September there is an increase in cash of $269,355. Un-obligated cash less upcoming cash outlays at the end of the month was $5,365,416.
Reserve accounts for landfill expansion, hauler rebate, operating contingency, and host facility fund total $5,055,606.
The funds are invested as follows:
The money market checking account at First Citizens National Bank earns 4.07%, Magic Fund rate is 3.07% and Unity Bank interest rates are 2.5%. Deposits were made to CDs at First Citizens Bank and Cetera Investments in November.
Commissioner Oslund moved to approve the October 31, 2022 Financial Statement second by Commissioner Hallan all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
Demolition Landfill
REQUESTED ACTION
Information Only
BACKGROUND:
East Central has an unlined demolition landfill. We do not allow any packaging or carpet in that landfill. The amount of demolition debris that come into that site may not be worth the possible problems that could come from having an unlined facility.
We have a lot of hard decisions to make in the upcoming year with permitting and hauler contracts. We feel we should do everything to prevent PFAS showing up in our monitoring wells and worry about the demolition potentially being a problem because PFAS is in many building materials.
Director Troupe asked the board for permission to discuss the options with the MPCA. The board granted her permission.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
2021 Audit
The 2021 Audit should be completed by the end of this month.
PFAS Sampling
The MPCA has offered a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for the Agreement between the MPCA and landfill to complete sampling on a voluntary basis. The Landfill Coalition consisting of all the public landfills has been working hard to find a solution that protects the people and protects the landfill.
There is a grant to assist with payment of additional sampling expenses for the voluntary sampling request of the MPCA. That grant is only available for those that sign this MOU by December 30, 2022.
My suggestion is that ECSWC stand with the rest of the public landfills. I suggest that we do not sign the MOU at this time nor accept the funding provided for sampling.
Director Troupe asked the board if they are ok with her following what the other landfills are doing. The board responded yes.
JANUARY MEETING DATE
The January Meeting is scheduled for Monday January 9, 2023 at 9:00 am at the ECSWC office in Mora.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Greene asked for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Oslund moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 AM, second by Commissioner Peterson, all in favor, motion carried (5-0)
Respectfully submitted,
Tracy Emerson