County considers selling its transfer station
Staff writer
Marion County residents will likely pay more for disposing items at the county landfill.
But at a Monday commission meeting, transfer station director John Housman listed other options, including selling the station.
“It would be good to have a specialized person handling this,” he said.
Currently, the transfer station does not charge for anything less than 300 pounds to be disposed at the landfill, and the public took advantage of this loophole, Housman said.
If 10 people used the loophole, he said their trash could amount to more than a ton, resulting in a loss of a lot of revenue.
Housman would like to institute a $10 minimum fee, starting Jan. 1. Currently, there is no fee.
Traveling to Butler County is a 99-mile round trip. With transportation costs and landfill fees, it costs $52 to $53 a ton.
Chairman Jonah Gehring was intrigued with the station being operated by a private management firm.
“Everything is going up,” he said.
For used tires alone, Housman said, the fees will increase from $4 to $10 to $5 to $25 depending on the size of the tire.
Commissioner Clarke Dirks talked about recycling.
“I am not a big fan of recycling,” he said. “I think it ends up in the landfill.
“We are not set up to be recyclers. It’s a money losing proposition.”
Recycling costs $90 a ton with individual customers with individualized customers paying $5 a month.
The proposal would increase to $110 a ton or to $10 for individual customers.
Dirks agreed private service is something that the county should consider.
Becker said it would be interesting to see if there is any interest in doing this.
Commissioner Mike Beneke would want commissioners to have some say in how it is managed.
“This will take some time,” county administrator Tina Spencer said.
Commissioners decided to discuss with Hillsboro what it was doing before taking any action.