Posted: 11/2/04
2005 ABC contract OKíd
Houston County commissioners unanimously approved a new recycling center/drop-off site agreement with Ability Building Center (ABC) in Caledonia at last weekís meeting.
Rick Frank, county environmental services director, said the 2005 contract is more geared to the drop-site program rather than the recycling program, and focuses on the duties of the drop site attendants.
The county will only be processing a limited amount of cardboard and aluminum at the recycling center in Houston starting in 2005. Most recyclable material will be taken by haulers to Waste Management in La Crosse.
The county will manage and direct the supervised drop-off sites. ABC supervisors will be responsible for handling, processing, and trucking the materials coming into the sites and supervising ABC client/workers.
Two ABC workers will be paid $20.82 per hour (wages and benefits) each for up to 2080 hours. The supervised drop-off site attendant, who has not yet been hired, will be paid $15.50 per hour. ABC client/workers will be paid $7.55 per hour.
Starting in 2005, the drop sites will open different days at different locations: Monday, in Houston, Tuesdays in Hokah, Wednesdays in Caledonia and Spring Grove, and Thursdays in La Crescent, all from 11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. This is a change from the current set-up, in which all sites are open every Monday from 2-7 p.m. On Saturdays, all the sites will be open from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. as is currently the case.
In other environmental business:
ï Commissioners approved an amendment to its household hazardous waste contract with Winona County. The amendment allows Houston County to be part of of Winona Countyís waste pesticide management plan with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The cost to the county will be $700.
ï Frank also passed out a summary of the household hazardous waste collection held in Hokah on October 13. The county collected $2,398 in fees, and paid out $2,250 to Winona County for disposing it.
The biggest item collected was oil and latex paint, which totaled 33,669 pounds.
Commissioner Larry Graf said he had heard some positive comments about doing this, and wished that it could be done more often.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com