COLUMBUS -- The City Council added an emergency action item to its agenda Monday to discuss the City of Columbus’ position on the future direction of the Northeast Nebraska Solid Waste Coalition.
The coalition consists of 21 municipalities and counties that work together to maintain operation of a landfill near Clarkson.
After more than 15 minutes in closed session, the council stated it would like Councilman Ron Bogus, Columbus’ representative to the coalition, to try and negotiate with Waste Connections of Nebraska Inc., the current contractor. Councilman Joe Held was absent from the meeting.
According to a letter from a Waste Connections attorney, the extension and modification agreement of the landfill operating agreement expired in July 2007 and since then the coalition and Waste Connections have been operating under an at-will relationship. During the past 16 years, Waste Connections, based in Norfolk, has been contracted to operate the coalition’s landfill.
The letter states Waste Connections has requested a rate increase for its services in order for it to continue to serve as the landfill operator, and if no action is taken, Waste Connections would like to terminate its services on Jan. 19, 2009.
Gary Lund, the coalition’s solid waste manager and designated representative between the coalition and the contractor, said the contractor submitted a rate request last February.
“The operating agreement stated there were fiscal reports to be submitted to the coalition along with rate increase requests,” Lund said, but those have not been received.
The current rate for service is $480,000 a year plus $4 a ton, which has not been adjusted since the two entities entered into the agreement. During the 2008 fiscal year, the City of Columbus paid $466,844 and took 19,528 tons of waste to the site as a member of the coalition.
The coalition is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Norfolk to discuss and take potential action on how to proceed after Jan. 17, 2009.
The three options on the coalition agenda are to take over the landfill operations, negotiate a new contract with Waste Connections or advertise for request for proposals for landfill operating services.
Lund said the staff recommends internal operation of the landfill because of cost savings.
City Administrator Joseph Mangiamelli said whatever decision the coalition makes it will not affect local waste haulers, but it could affect the city’s budget.
“What we would expect is for Gary to provide sufficient documentation to show it would not be more costly to operate in that manner and hopefully it will be less costly to operate with internal control,” Mangiamelli said, but the primary concern is cost effective operation of the landfill.
In other news, the council:
• approved the appointment of Matthew Cox as city engineer as recommended by Mayor Mike Moser.
• approved the appointments of David Duren, Jamie Ferguson and Herman Person to three-year terms and James Murphy and Jeff Krings to two-year terms, as recommended by Mayor Mike Moser, to the Columbus Board of Airport Commissioners.
• passed a resolution to approve the City of Columbus Identity Theft Prevention Program as provided for in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• passed a resolution to approve the Northeast Nebraska Economic Development District (NENEDD) housing administration contract between Elkhorn Valley Community Development Corp., doing business as NeighborWorks Northeast Nebraska, and the City of Columbus regarding the New Neighborhoods Initiative -- Bradshaw Place.
• passed a resolution to approve the NENEDD general administration contract bet-ween the NENEDD and the City of Columbus regarding the New Neighborhoods Initiative -- Bradshaw Place.
• passed a resolution, as part of the consent agenda, to award low bid to Schmader Electric of West Point in the amount of $24,471 for emergency warning sirens, Phase III.
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