July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Bids cause confusion

Waste district moves ahead on pole building

By By Mike [email protected]

Members of the Jay County Solid Waste District Board of Directors were left slightly confused after reviewing a host of bids for proposed renovations to district headquarters.

About the only thing board members were certain of was that they wanted to move forward with construction of a 40-foot by 40-foot pole building at the site across from the Jay County Landfill.

Members of the board tabled action on bids for interior and exterior renovations at district headquarters on the northwest corner of Ind. 67 and county road 400 South, but chose the low bid submitted for the pole barn.

That bid of $19,220 was submitted by M&E Construction, owned by Mike Leonhard, a Jay County Commissioner and district board member.

Leonhard did not vote on the issue.

Also planned are the installation of siding on the exterior of the home which serves as the district office, along with some remodeling to make the bathroom in the office more handicapped accessible. Plans for a fireproof room in the house will now likely be shifted to the pole building.

Also Monday, board members Gerald Kirby, Jim Hedges, Gary Theurer, Milo Miller Jr., Bill Gibson and Leonhard agreed to make a $10,000 payment to Jay County for a portion of the expenses incurred in paying a consultant to prepare the district’s 20-year plan.

The district, which has almost exactly $100,000 in its checking account, will eventually repay about $70,000 to the county’s infrastructure fund.

That money was paid to Beam, Longest & Neff, an Indianapolis consulting and engineering firm.

District executive director Kay Hayes also told board members Monday that an oversight in the process of preparing a 2004 budget will force a special meeting to be held in early January.

After an increase in the proposed 2004 budget, the board should have held an additional public hearing. Because that hearing was not held, the entire 2004 budget must be approved as an additional appropriation.

The board will meet Monday, Jan. 5, at 3 p.m. at the Jay County Courthouse to consider the issue.

In other business Monday, members of the board:

•Reviewed a breakdown of the items that were brought to the district’s hazardous waste collection day in October.

Items collected included 35,000 pounds of liquid; 30,000 pounds of appliances; 50,000 pounds of tires; and 900 pounds of electronics.

There were nearly 1,000 tires brought to the collection day, along with 11,400 gallons of paint; 935 gallons of used motor oil; six gallons of hydrochloric acid; and 41 refrigerators.

•Tabled action on a request for a donation from the Dunkirk Glass Museum. The museum is attempting to raise $1,400 as a match to a grant to purchase display cases for a collection donated recently to the museum.

Several board members, including Kirby, himself a glass collector, expressed some hesitation about donating to a project with questionable direct connection to the functions and mission of the waste district.

“You’re opening up the flood gates, and here they come,” Kirby said. “I’m questioning whether the district should get involved.”

The board will reconsider the request in December.

•Approved claims for November of $6,703.12. The district had a net income of $14,818.78 for the month, leaving a balance of $100,798.83 after all claims were paid.

•Received a report from Hayes about a company called Re-Cellular, which collects and recycles personal electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers and personal digital assistants. Some items collected and given to the company will result in a payment back to the district, said Hayes. She was asked by board members to investigate the matter further.

•Received an update from Bill Read of Beam, Longest & Neff about minor changes and additions he is making to the district’s 20-year plan, which has already been approved by officials from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The changes are being made at the request of IDEM, he said.

The changes will be made before copies are made for the district and IDEM, Read said Monday.[[In-content Ad]]
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