County pays final bond installment for transfer station

?That?s one more monkey off our backs,? said Marion County Commissioner Dan Holub Mon?day as commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the final $2,581 installment payment for the decade-old bond issue for purchase of the county waste transfer station.

The facility formerly was the electric plant for the city of Marion.

But commissioners acknowledge that trash is a never-ending issue. They discussed Monday with Rollin Schmidt, transfer station director, whether to keep under-used recycling Dumpsters going in the smaller communities of the county.

Commissioner Randy Dallke suggested leaving the Dumpsters on site until July to see how they have performed. He said leaving a Dumpster more than a month without picking up materials would discourage use.

The commissioners said they may want to give towns the option of keeping Dumpsters on site at their own expense when they don?t perform well enough to offset the county?s trash-disposal expenses.

Schmidt said the transfer station collected and disposed of 453.20 tons of waste in March, including 415.69 tons of municipal solid waste, 36.86 tons of commercial and demolition waste, and 0.65 ton of tires.

This was done at a cost per ton of $41.60 including fuel, a driver and landfill tipping fees, Schmidt said.

Commissioners accepted a $6,243.50 bid from National Signs of Ottawa for 100 9-foot, 200 10-foot and 150 11-foot county road-sign posts over competitive bids of $6,680 from Welborn Sales of Salina and of $6,696 from Hall Signs of Bloomington, Ind..

The commissioners also voted 3-0 to replace signs only as needed to devote more money to rock for roads.

The commissioners said they didn?t think roads should be allowed to deteriorate because thieves are removing county road signs.

?We can do the signs by attrition,? Commissioner Roger Fleming said. ?I vote for rock.?

The commissioners decided that docks at Marion County Lake won?t be approved with roofs or other objects on top of them that obstruct the view of the lake. Dallke said many persons from the current generation of retirees would spend for dock additions ?with money no object.?

Fleming said to protect the lake, the commissioners must dock owners that ?they maintain their docks or they?re out of there. Too many are allowed to deteriorate.?

The commissioners approved raising county lake camping fees to $100 a season for county residents and $125 for non-residents for 14 days maximum followed by seven days interim.

They said people who live outside Marion County but own property in the county will be classed as ?residents? in regard to fees.

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