District will wait on trailer request

For now, the number of recycling trailers in Portland will remain the same.

Jay County Solid Waste Management District on Monday heard a request from Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman for an additional trailer but took no action, instead settling on a wait-and-see approach.

The board also agreed to purchase a security system for the district office and reviewed Tox Away Day numbers.

Geesaman, who serves as president of the solid waste district board, made the request for an additional trailer in Portland after the city’s board of works recently decided to eliminate its curbside recycling program. The program will cease operation following pick-up next week.

District educator Bettie Jacobs suggested that the board wait before making any changes, as recycling trailers are typically not full each weekend. The district provides two recycling trailers each Saturday at the shopping center lot at 220 Lincoln St., Portland, and Jacobs said typically one is filled and the other is about half-filled. (The district also provides a trailer 24/7 at Jay County Sheriff’s Office.)

District board members seemed to agree with Jacobs’ assessment of the situation, with Chuck Huffman adding that it wouldn’t make financial sense for the solid waste district to take on more cost when it is already incurring significant deficit spending this year.

A flyer detailing what items are recyclable at the trailers will be sent to all Portland residents with their next water bill. A list is also available at jaycosolidwaste.com and on the solid waste district’s Facebook page.

Board members Jeanne Houchins, Barry Hudson, Gene Ritter, Mike Leonhard, Bill Gibson, Geesaman and Huffman also voted to purchase a security system from Secret Security of Portland at a cost of $3,662, provided that the quote remains valid after Jan. 1. They wanted to wait until 2019 as the current year’s budget is tight.

The security system first came up last month after a pile of broken televisions was left at the district office. It cost more than $1,000 to clean up and properly dispose of the mess.

The board also reviewed numbers from the Oct. 6 Tox Away Day at Jay County High School. Fewer vehicles (335) passed through this year than last (347), but the amount of hazardous materials collected was up by nearly 8,000 pounds.

Items collected included nearly 10,000 pounds of paint and more than 6,000 pounds of oil. Other items clearing the 1,000-pound mark were pesticides and gasses/paint thinners.

In other business, the board:

•Made transfers totaling $7,409.69 to cover costs in line items as the end of the year approaches.

•Approved the payment of claims totaling $41,159.63. The district brought in $16,926.92 in September on 9,770.23 tons dumped at Jay County Landfill. It now has a total balance of cash and investments of $367,549.91. Rhodehamel pointed out that tipping fees at the landfill are down more than $21,000 — about 10 percent — thus far in 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017. District expenses, meanwhile, are up more than $36,000 — about 14 percent.

•Heard Geesaman, Huffman and Rhodehamel are working with county attorney Bill Hinkle on options for the district’s contract for recycling trailers. Charges from Waste Management have gone up significantly in recent years, and Rhodehamel recently received a quote from BestWay that would result in savings for the district. However, the district is in the midst of a three-year contract with Waste Management that runs through April 2021.