Revenue up for district during May (06/27/06)

Thanks to a big month at the Jay County Landfill, the Jay County Solid Waste District had a good month financially in May.

Members of the waste district board learned Monday that the district had income of $26,215 from landfill tipping fees in May, and expenses of $21,306.96.

For the past few months activity at the landfill has been down, and expenses for the district have exceeded profits.

“It’s up quite a bit from last month,” district director, Kay Hayes told the board, about the income and $19 net profit the landfill made in April.

In May the landfill took in 21,767.28 tons of solid waste with 583 of those tons exempt from the district fee. The landfill collects a $1.25 per-ton fee that is then paid to the waste district.

Additionally Monday the board approved a request from Dan Orr, vice-chairman of the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District board to again help fund the local program. The district has provided the program with $10,000 annually for the past few years.

He explained to the district board that the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) is now requiring all SWCS offices to pay their own rent and to help with the cost of utilities. Orr said that is expected to increase the program’s budget by $2,400 for rent, plus the additional costs for utilities.

“We’re looking at $34,000 in expenses,” Orr said, thanking the district board for its consideration.

The board also approved Hayes’ request to increase some insurance coverage.

She explained that a storage building located at the district office on Ind. 67 across from the landfill is not currently covered. Hayes also asked about increasing the liability coverage the district currently provides.

Hayes told the board she would have the 2007 budget ready for approval at the July meeting.

“It looks like we’ll have the money for next year,” she said. The 2006 budget was $213,000.

“Now’s the time for you to make any changes,” she told the board.

A trailer that didn’t show up for planned recycling day at Redkey recently, drew concern from Redkey residents as well as Hayes.

“The group was there; the box wasn’t,” she said.

Tom Fry, with Waste Management, Muncie, attended Monday’s meeting and explained that delivery of the recycling trailers was now being made from Muncie instead of the former site in Kokomo.

He said the Muncie office did not receive the schedule from Kokomo as expected; therefore the trailer was not made available.

To help smooth the situation, Fry said a trailer would be sited at Redkey at no charge.

“Out of good faith we’ll give you a free pull,” he said. “I’ll give you a contact number so you won’t have any more problems.”

Prior to the board’s regular meeting Monday, the Citizens Action Committee met for the first time this year and voted to retain the same officers as in 2005. Orr will again serve as president and Cindy Denney was elected secretary.

In other business the district board:

•Heard Hayes say the recent recycling art contest drew 16 entries.

“I was hoping for more,” she said, “but we had some really great things.”

•Approved a request from Special Olympics for $50 for a track and field competition the clients will be attending.

•Heard a request from the Jay Community Center to purchase an advertisement on a walkway at the center.

“In a degree of fairness, we need to have a representative come to the board and ask for funding,” said board member Gerald Kirby. Other board members agreed.

•Heard Hayes say that reimbursement from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for $35,000 “is slowly making progress. They lost the paperwork for that and we’ve been playing paper tag for one and one-half years.”

The money represents costs the district incurred during the January 2005 ice storm when it paid for the grinding downed trees and limbs.[[In-content Ad]]