District OKs new contract

Groups that work at recycling trailers on Saturday mornings will do so on new contracts beginning in 2018.

Jay County Solid Waste Management District’s board approved the new contracts at Monday’s meeting.

The contracts specify details such as when groups should have members on site, who should be contacted if a trailer is full and what to do if a different group is filling in on a particular Saturday. It also designates payment — $150 per date with additional bonuses to be considered at the close of each year.

The contracts were created in an effort to eliminate any potential confusion about where checks should be sent for the recycling work and who is the correct point of contact for each group. Both items were called into question earlier this year.

Board members Jeanne Houchins, Chuck Huffman, Mike Leonhard, Bill Gibson and Barry Hudson, absent Randy Geesaman and Gene Ritter, approved the contracts. They will be sent out this week and will be effective Jan. 1.

In other business, the board:

•Approved an updated personnel policy based on the hourly wage ($16.48) and annual salary ($17,510) it agreed upon for its director and educator, respectively.

•Heard a request from district director Samantha Rhodehamel that a dumpster or trash bin be acquired for the district office because trash is sometimes mixed in with the recyclable items that are dropped off. The board asked Rhodehamel to get a quote for such a service.

•Learned applications for the district’s education grants will be sent to teachers in January.

•Named Karen Gore of Redkey to the open spot on the district’s citizens advisory committee.

•Paid claims totaling $17,035.03. The district brought in $28,332.70 in tipping fees on 16,353.65 tons dumped at Jay County Landfill in October, bringing its balance to $460,319.61.