Recycling reinstated

Curbside recycling is returning to the city. 

Portland City Council voted Monday to reinstate recycling in Portland, combining trash and recycling pickup using a Muncie-based service. 

Council members also delayed action on the sale of the Sheller-Globe south building. 

Portland agreed to a five-year contract with East Central Recycling in Muncie, expected to start in June or July. City employees will pick up residents’ trash and recycling at the same time — with recyclables placed in a separate, provided bag — and will haul the waste to Muncie.

Even though the drive will be longer, Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman said the cost is cheaper compared to using Jay County Landfill, which charges $64 per ton dumped. East Central Recycling will charge $54.39 per ton and will separate the recyclables. 

The change is estimated to save the city $100,000 a year in tipping fees. 

In March, the city’s financial consultant Baker Tilly recommended that the city charge households $6.84 per month for the service. In addition to the contract costs, that payment would cover the cost of a five-year lease payment for a new trash truck and the salary for an additional part-time employee.

However, because of how much the city is projected to save, council decided that city households should pay a lower rate of $5.50 a month to start out. Incremental increases may be introduced in the future if needed. 

“If we’re saving that amount of money, then I don’t think that $6.84 is fair to the citizens, in my opinion,” said council member Janet Powers. 

Before curbside recycling pickup ended in October, residents paid $4.25 per month for the service. 

Council also approved a five-year lease-to-own agreement for a $167,887 trash truck from Best Equipment Company. The interest rate is 4.66 percent.

Also on Monday, council tabled a decision on the sale of the Sheller-Globe south building. 

Portland Board of Works on April 5 again selected a bid from Goodhew Metals for the building at 510 S. Bridge St. The process of selling the building, which originally began in December, was restarted after questions were raised about the legitimacy of choosing Goodhew’s bid the first time. 

Those questions seemed to remain. Tim Miller, who owns TJ’s Bicycle and Moped Sales and bid for the building both times, said he did not think the process was fair. He urged council to reject the sale.  

“It was a done deal, which is so wrong,” Miller said. “I feel like this should be tabled and investigated. What happened here was horrible, the way you treat people around here.”  

Geesaman asked for a motion to approve the sale and council member Judy Aker made it, saying it was time to move on. However, the motion died as no one seconded it.

After the meeting, Geesaman said he would confer with the board of works and the city’s attorney about the next steps for the sale. 

In other business, board members Judy Hedges, Bill Gibson, Kent McClung, Don Gillespie, Powers and Aker, absent Michele Brewster: 

•Approved paying $10,000 toward the cost of a mural depicting the history of the Portland Rockets baseball team on the side of The Ritz Theatre in downtown Portland. Jay County Commissioners agreed to pay $11,500 towards the project, which will start in May. 

•Learned the dates for this year’s Indiana Run for the Fallen, which honors members of the armed forces who have died in service to the country. Donald Gillespie told council the run will begin in Fort Wayne at 8 a.m. on May 10, with runners reaching Jay County at 3 p.m. and stopping at Andrew Whitacre’s mile marker in Bryant at 3:30. The group will arrive at Freedom Park in Portland at 4:40 p.m. On May 11, the runners will leave Freedom Park at 7:30 a.m. and head toward Redkey, exiting the county at 10:10 a.m.

Gillespie also noted that the organization will host a banquet and concert for families of fallen soldiers on Sept. 28 at Hudson Family Park. 

•Approved sending a tax abatement request from FCC (Indiana) for $3.3 million in manufacturing equipment to the tax abatement advisory committee. 

•Learned from Geesaman that Indiana Department of Transportation is planning to hold a public hearing in May about proposed work to U.S. 27 in downtown Portland. 

•Approved the sale of the city’s 1998 firetruck to the City of Dunkirk for $35,000. 

•Heard that the city will be advertising five vacant lots for sale. The properties are at 130 E. High St., 509 W. High St., 961 S. Bridge St., 815 E. North St. and 910 E. North St. 

•Paid Jones and Henry $10,746 for continued work on the wastewater treatment plant.