City likely to take reigns of transfer station to end months of complaints and finger pointing

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

A solution regarding the ongoing problem at the Rogers City transfer station may be in the offing, after Rogers City manager Mark Slown presented a proposal that was receptive by members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners. In a letter presented to the county finance committee September 11, Slown suggested that either the city or county take complete responsibility for the operation of the transfer station. That could bring an end to the angry complaints to city hall, which number a couple a week, as well as the complaint calls to county commissioners at home. It also may bring an end to the messes and the extra costs incurred for hauling and cleaning up. ?We want to accommodate the sensible and reasonable desire to recycle,? said Slown. ?Frankly, that has been very difficult.?

The county and city have been discussing ways to solve the problem for several months. The city has managed the trash compaction and the yard waste at the facility through a contract with Waste Management, while the county has managed the recycling through a contract with Republic Waste Services. Four different agencies participating in the operation and management of the transfer station has caused confusion, miscommunication, and difficulty servicing customers, Slown said.

THE LATEST mess occurred during the Labor Day weekend when the bins filled to overflowing and people started leaving recyclable items on the ground. Commissioner Mike Darga expressed his frustration at the September 12 county board meeting. ?We?ve got signs up there! ?No cardboard recycling, do not leave items on ground.? It?s plain and simple. It has been there for years ? and there is a $500 littering fine. Why would they (people recycling) want to do something like that to begin with??

Slown added, ?People want to get rid of their recycling, and that is a laudable instinct, and I respect that. We need to accommodate their needs. If the thing is full, people shouldn?t leave their stuff there.? According to Slown, Waste Management handled the recycling at the transfer station, but ?that changed due to the county-wide recycling contract.? ?The previous contract stated that Waste Management was in charge of the recycling,? Slown continued. ?When the county came in and took over recycling at that facility, that part of the contract, in my view, is null and void.? That is where dividing lines are drawn, as there are different interpretations of the contract language.

DARGA SAID Waste Management has a contract obligation to contact the city when the bin is close to being filled. ?They have yet to do it since Republic Waste took over the hauling.? Adding to the problem are local people trespassing on the transfer station property and dropping off recyclables during off hours, which has forced the city police, supervisor of the DPW, as well as Slown and Darga, to check the bin throughout the week. Yet, the bin was stuffed well beyond capacity September 1 at 9:30 a.m. People wanting to recycle plastic, tin, glass and newspapers left their items on the ground and it wasn?t cleaned up for nearly a week. A call did not get placed for a replacement bin until Tues

day. The items on the ground filled half a bin when the city finished cleaning it up. Waste Management keeps the station open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. ?It is very limited hours,? said Slown. ?That is not very convenient for people, so I understand the difficulties people are having, and their frustrations.? Other complaints from city and neighboring townships have included a reduction of services. When Republic took over the recycling they discontinued the cardboard recycling, although cardboard recycling is not available at other sites in the county. Waste Management also eliminated Wednesday as a day they would keep the facility open. ?(WM) is setting the hours where they can have a profitable operation. That means the citizens have to adjust their plans to the contractor?s schedule.? DPW staff was there for a few hours on Wednesdays during the summer, but that was costing more than $100 a day.

?WE HAVE been trying to operate it in a fiscally prudent way,? said Slown. Both city and county officials say there is no love lost between Republic and WM. ?I think all the problems stem because two different people are in there and they are playing games back and forth,? said Bruder at last Wednesday?s meeting. ?One blames the other one, so we are going to try and have one person do it.? Slown said, ?I do not think either one of them have been putting their best foot forward, that?s my perception. I?m sure Republic and Waste Management would be happy if the other guy fell on his face, frankly, and I don?t like that.? He added that the most important aspect of the situation is to serve the customers. ?That is lost in the whole mess.?

Bruder commented that he is in favor of allowing the city to handle the operation, including the selection of the contractor. If this were to occur, th

en the city or their contractor would pay all charges. In this case, the county would also reimburse the city for the cost of hauling the recycled material collected there. ?The theory is, if there is a single contractor, and their reputation is at stake they are going to want to make sure that it is operating efficiently and that nobody is complaining.? Bruder said, ?Let the city bid it, and let them handle it and we?ll pay our portion of it.? There also has been talk of the need to have a caretaker, because of the improper items being placed in bins. Contaminated bins are compacted and shipped to the landfill.

?I don?t want to be in an adversarial relation with the county,? said Slown, ?I don?t want contractors working for them or working for the city to be adversarial with each other. I think it is an important governmental cooperation effort for the city and the county to work together.?

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