Great River Regional Waste Authority Regular Commission Meeting June 23, 2004 Minutes A meeting of the Great River Regional Waste Authority Commission was
held Wednesday, June 23, 2004, at the GRRWA Transfer Station, Keokuk, Iowa. The following Commission Members were present: Chairman Marc Lindeen, Henry County Commissioner Bob Woodruff, Lee County Commissioner Susan Dunek, City of Keokuk; and Commissioner Steve Ireland, City of Fort Madison. The following were also present at the meeting: Mr. Tim Yoder, Director; Mr. Matt
Niewsiender Barker Lemar; Mr. Bob Watson; Sally Johnson; and Gerry Baksys and
Matt LeBlanc from the media. I.
Meeting
Called to Order Chairman Lindeen called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. II.
Approval
of the Agenda Chairman Lindeen called for additions, deletions, or corrections to
the agenda. Commissioner Dunek moved
to approve the agenda seconded by Commissioner Woodruff. No discussion. Motion adopted by unanimous voice vote. III.
Approval
of May 26, 2004 Meeting Minutes Motion was made by Commissioner Dunek to approve the meeting minutes
with the addition of Commissioners Ireland’s request for a Budget Workshop
under the Board Member Comments, seconded by Commissioner Ireland. No discussion. Motion adopted by
unanimous voice vote. IV.
Public Comments None V. Barker Lemar
Update Mr. Matt Nieswiender reported to the Commission
that the Air Space Review has been completed. The compaction rate has increased over the past six months and
the life of the landfill has increased in time over the same period. A modified bid proposal for the Leachate
tie in Line will be sent out. A
modified bid proposal will quicken the time for responses so that the
construction of the tie in line can begin in FY05. The Transfer Station Permit renewal is in progress and will be
submitted by June 30th. Tim
Buelow from Barker Lemar will be attending a meeting with Director Yoder at
the IDNR Air Quality Bureau on June 24th. Barker Lemar staff has started calling on
businesses and have sent out letters to collect data for the organics
material study that Barker Lemar is conducting. Mr. Nieswiender was able to explain Alternative
Cover to Commissioner Ireland.
Commissioner Ireland also requested what dollar value is placed on
landfill space savings. VI.
Directors
Report With the recent storms that have come through the Keokuk
area over 75 tons of tree waste was brought to the transfer station during
May. The City of Keokuk’s Public
Works Director, Bill Richards has asked if some financial relief can be
considered for the wood waste disposal.
The south entrance to the landfill is now complete and is accessible
for all vehicles. Staff seeded down
the storm collection area on the east side of the landfill after excavation
work was completed by Walljasper Tiling and Excavation. Clay was pushed in from the east side to
cover up the exposed liner in the anchor trench and construct a less degree
of slope in the run off area. With
the recent wet weather, the northwest corner of the landfill has developed
leachate seeps. Staff has worked hard
the past couple of weeks to try and determine the origin of the seep and dig
down and redirect them. The mixer has
been repaired and has been in operation with the new gear box for two weeks
now. Sigourney Foods began the week
of June 7th bringing a straight truck of compostables to our
facility. Approximately 10 ton of
material will be delivered every week in totes. Material is consisting of meat scraps, casings, caramel
coloring, contaminated cardboard and paper products. Electrical service is now to the compost
storage building. Meniga Electric
will be on site in the next couple of weeks to complete the wiring to the
storage tank building. Staff has
learned that the SWAP Contract that was received in 2001 can be amended so
that approximately $80,000 can be used to purchase equipment. Approximately $3000 remains in the SWAP
Contract for educational activities for the Compost Operation. Staff will be working with Commissioner
Dunek to put together a video presentation that will help educate the public
on the compost operation and give the opportunity to the public to be more
aware of all the activities that are being done at GRRWA. Staff was not able to obtain a price for a
new forklift in time for this months meeting. The Commission should expect to see it on the July Agenda. The Director attended the IDNR Kaizen
event from June 1 through June 4. The
Kaizen was a successful event in that the Team was able to identify and
document the permit application process, establish checklists for internal
and external use, construct new permit renewal and application forms, provide
a guidance/outline for operation plans, and provide the potential for online
status of applications. There will be
an ongoing status check of the process to ensure that the improvements have
been implemented and are working. A
training session for the new application process will be held September 7
& 8 in Des Moines for all landfills in the state of Iowa. This was a very valuable experience for
the Director to be a part of. The
Director was able to learn more about the DNR and all of the items that are
looked at during a permit renewal.
Tim Lubec from Caterpillar, Inc will be on site Thursday July 1st. The intention of the visit is to put
together information for the presentation that will be given by GRRWA staff
at the August Caterpillar Government Days event to be held in Peoria. Staff has received back a premium quote
from Cady Insurance for health insurance for staff. A partial self fund of premiums could save the company over
$10,000. The next step is to set up a
meeting with the AFSCME Representative to go over the insurance
coverage’s. Staff has completed the
task of copying documents for the City Manager, Mr. Bill Kelly for the City
of Fort Madison. An armed police
officer from the City picked up the documents Friday June 11, 2004. To date staff has not received any
comments or questions concerning the documents. The Director met with Gene Enke from Hopkirk & Feightener
and completed the insurance renewal for Fiscal Year 2005. A credit of $1738.55 was applied to the
premium, which will have to be paid by July 1, 2004 to bind the renewal. If any one of the Commissioners has any
questions concerning the insurance coverage, they can contact me or Gene
Enke. Gene also wanted to extend to
the Commission that if necessary, he would attend a meeting. SCS Engineers have completed an estimate
and design of the methane collection system.
Copies of the drawings are available for review at the Administration
Office. In a letter dated June 7,
2004 from the IDNR Air Quality Bureau, it was stated concerning the City of
Fort Madison Landfill and the GRRWA landfills, that the two landfills are
under the same SIC number, adjacent to one another and have a common owner
and/or operator, the DNR has determined that they are considered one landfill
with respect to NSPS Subpart WWW.
Based on DNR records the City of Ft. Madison Landfill has a design
capacity of 1,818,140 m3 and the GRRWA has a design capacity of 1,884,050 ms.
Total capacity is 3,702,190 m3. Per
NSPS Subpart WWW, the landfills are required to submit a Title V application
as the design capacity exceeds the 2.5 million cubic meters. VII.
Earthly
Goods Report Mr. Watson reported to the Commission that
Waupaca Northwoods has given GRRWA a number of bags for the 2005 season at
300,000. This number does not include
Wal-Mart. With Wal-Mart numbers it
could be one and a half times more. Mr. Watson was able to make a trip to
Indiana to look at the bagging equipment that GRRWA wanted to purchase. He told the Commission that it was well
worth the money and that in a few weeks it will be torn down and shipped. VIII.
Legal Counsel Report Mr. Napier reported to the Commission that he had
worked with Director Yoder in getting the documents prepared for the City of
Fort Madison. He also reported that
he had worked on a couple of contracts this month. IX.
Action Items Resolution GRRWA 04-42: Resolution Approving the Budget for Fiscal
Year 2005. Motion by Commissioner Dunek seconded by Commissioner Ireland to
adopt Resolution GRRWA 04-42. No
further discussion. Motion adopted by
unanimous voice vote. Resolution GRRWA 04-45: Resolution Approving
Expenditures of the Authority. Motion
by Commissioner Dunek seconded by Commissioner Ireland to adopt Resolution
GRRWA 04-45. No further discussion.
Motion adopted by unanimous voice vote. Resolution GRRWA 04-46: Resolution Approving Public Information
Policy. Commissioner Ireland
commented that this policy is much too strict and in no way be supportive of
such a policy. Commissioner Woodruff
commented that the definition of information is too broad. Legal Counsel Napier responded that the
information that is being looked at is the type of information that may be
requested from a hauler. If a hauler
is requesting information that contains competitive information. The Director needs to evaluate what is
pertinent information. Personnel
information is a good example. This
policy would protect people by funneling information through the
Director. Commissioner Dunek
questioned how the agency would be prepared for the reality of the Director
being out of the office for a few days.
Commissioner Woodruff questioned the termination of an employee who
would deem it necessary to give out information about wrong doings in the
work place. Legal Counsel Napier
responded that in these circumstances the employee would be covered under the
sunshine law. Commissioners Woodruff
and Ireland both agreed that they cannot live with immediate termination
language. Commissioner Dunek
responded that there must be some grounds for termination. Legal Counsel Napier will work with
Director Yoder on defining information and work with the policy to meet open
record requirements and is productive to the organization. Motion was made to table Resolution
04-46 by Commissioner Dunek seconded by Commissioner Ireland. Motion adopted by unanimous voice vote. Resolution GRRWA 04-47: Resolution Authority Director to Enter
Into a 28 E Agreement with Henry County Engineer. Motion by Commissioner Dunek seconded by Chairman Lindeen to
adopt Resolution GRRWA 04-43. Commissioner
Woodruff responded that he needed more information as to the 28E
Agreement. Commissioner Ireland
voiced that there is not a need for such an agreement when we are working
Henry County only a couple of times a year.
Motion failed by voice vote of nay, Commissioner Woodruff and
Commissioner Ireland; aye Commissioner Dunek and Chairman Lindeen. X.
Executive Session:
Possible Pending Litigation Forgone XI.
Other Business Director Yoder handed
out to the Commission a Wage Survey that was recently given to him that
included wage information from other landfill’s in the State. He also handed out a copy of the wage
study that was conducted by ISOSWO last June. Commissioner Dunek
shared with the Commission that the Planning Committee met prior to today’s
meeting. The meeting focused on the
Landfill Gas project estimation and design for the collection system. Applications for the Landfill Gas were
discussed. The Compost operation
tonnages of raw materials were discussed and how staff is handling the large
tonnages. The SSOM survey that is
being conducted will be able to help identify other possible composters. The landfill airspace analysis was
discussed and how the timing of the analysis is important when looking at the
expansion design. The expansion
design must be settled on soon. A
planning event was also discussed.
The Commission, the Director and direct reports will be asked to
participate in half day retreat. The
retreat will give a walk through of the last five years. Chairman Lindeen asked Director Yoder if GRRWA
will be ready for the new GASB rule.
Director Yoder responded to Lindeen that the Auditor has been aware of
the rule change for the past year and that Ms. Hunsaker is working on the
compliance of the rule for GRRWA.
Chairman Lindeen requested from Director Yoder that he bring to the
next meeting possible dates for the planning retreat. XIII.
Adjourn With no further
business before the Commission, Commissioner Dunek made a motion to adjourn,
seconded by Commissioner Ireland.
Motion adopted by unanimous voice vote. Approved as to form and content as adopted at the
July 30, 2004 GRRWA Commission meeting.
Wednesday - November 19, 2008 - 06:09 pm CST
SERVICES & INFORMATION
GRRWA
ADMINISTRATION
MINUTES
XII.
Board Member Comments
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