Posted: 3/29/05
County approves garbage amendment
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners voted 3-2 on March 22 to sign a 15 year amendment to its garbage contract with La Crosse County.
Dave Corcoran, Larry Graf, and Ann Thompson supported the amendment. Tom Bjerke and Kevin Kelleher voted no.
The current garbage contract expires in 2008. The extension, which will extend to 2023, is needed because Xcel Energy had to retrofit its incinerator two years ago due to new federal air quality standards.
The decision came after 30 minutes of discussion that resembled the pros and cons laid out at other recent board meetings.
Kelleher was leery of the liabilities with Xcel Energyís incinerator on French Island, where Houston Countyís garbage is burned. Landfill and demolition material goes to a landfill in La Crosse County. He objected once again to a $240,000 fee that La Crosse County levied on Houston County when the incinerator had to be upgraded due to new emission standards.
Kelleher said he didnít like seeing paper or plastic burned, which is happening at Xcelís incinerator.
He also noted that the county had not received a notice from Xcel when they started burning railroad ties.
Compliance rules are changing all the time, Graf said.
ìDo you want to be on the hook for them?î Kelleher responded. He said that with global warming, burning will be more closely scrutinized in the future.
Landfills are cheaper and those savings could be passed to the customers, Kelleher said.
Environmental services director Rick Frank said such savings had not been passed down to customers in Winona County.
Frank said the La Crosse contract provides a level playing field for haulers. He liked the regional approach, and said future programs could be implemented too. He recommended that the county sign the extension.
Bjerke said the decision boiled down to which was the lesser of two evils, landfills or incinerators. He said he doesnít like breathing in pollution, and there seems to be more work being done with landfills.
Water problems from landfills could come back to haunt the county too, Frank said.
Landfills have innovations such as producing methane, Kelleher said. ìGranted, thereís no magic button,î he said.
Not signing the amendment would not necessarily be the end of the discussion with La Crosse County, Kelleher said. ìIf they need our garbage, who knows?î he asked.
Graf said that the federal government likes to see a regional approach to things like this.
Corcoran said that the money that Houston County is paying for the incinerator upgrade is cheap compared to the cost of closing a landfill. He made the motion to sign the contract amendment, saying that the county could always get out out of the contract if it needed to.
Housing/homeless grant
In other business, the board approved a request from Wendy Todd, Semcacís Outreach and Emergency Services Director, for a grant that would help the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program.
The grant money will help provide short-term housing assistance to families and youth. Semcac served 271 individuals in 87 households with short-term rent or mortgage assistance, Todd said, with 15 people comprising seven households in Houston County.
Kelleher said there is sometimes duplication of services with different agencies, each of which have their own administrative costs.
But that helps the county tap into different funding sources, Ann Thompson said.
Corcoran said that medical emergencies can affect peopleís lives and cause them to lose their homes. If programs like this can get people on their feet, it saves the county money in the long run.
New deputy coming
The board also approved the hiring of a new deputy to replace Robert Schuldt, who is resigning effective April 29 to b become the new police chief of the City of Hokah.
Sheriff Mike Lee told commissioners he would hire the deputy from the same pool of people he has interviewed for the replacement of Randy Shefelbine, who resigned in January to become Caledonia Police Chief. Lee said he is doing background checks on three applicants now.
The sheriff also made another pitch for an officer designated primarily for courtroom security. Lee, who brought the issue up at a meeting in February, said there have been some high-risk prisoners at the courthouse in recent weeks. He said he always takes care of courtroom security, but he has had to pull officers from patrols to make sure the courtroom is safe. ìThe monkeyís being thrown on your back,î he said.
Other business
ï Holly Kanengieter and Rebecca Pruss, regional and county 4-H coordinators, also updated the board on recent happenings. Kanengieter added that 4H was helping to implement a $5,000 grant that the county received from the National Association of Counties for early childhood initiatives. jean Meiners will coordinate the work, and do some of the training Kanengieter said.
ï The board approved a calcium chloride low bid to Univar USA Chemical.
ï County attorney Rick Jackson updated the board on his efforts to get a variance that would allow juveniles arrested in Houston County to be taken to La Crosse County. Currently, juveniles have to be transported to either Many Rivers Juvenile Detention in Rochester or Red Wing Juvenile Center in Red Wing within six hours of arrest. The variance would allow county officials to cross the state line without losing jurisdiction in the case. Jackson said he should an update on it in about a month.
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