By Scott Pearson

Staff Writer

The Marshall County Solid Waste committee met on Monday, working to put some of the uncertainty of the past year behind them and address needed improvements in the department.

The department and the committee are continuing to examine current operations in order to improve revenue in the department as well as addressing findings from last year’s State Comptroller’s investigation into the Solid Waste Department.

At their last meeting, the committee extended the interim director status of current operations manager David Hunter for up to six more months while they consider the direction they wish to take with the position.

After interviewing five candidates for the director’s position, the committee faced a setback when their preferred candidate turned down the position.

The committee is examining processes in order to answer questions about the department, mainly the one raised by Commissioner and committee member R.L. Williams, “What is it going to take for the department to break even?”

The department provides recycling trailers for several industries in Lewisburg and the county at no cost. The department rents the trailers for $100 per month, judging that the cost of owning the trailers would ultimately cost more.

While the cost of most of the trailers are exceeded by the value of the recyclables that industries deposit in them, there are some that lag behind. The possibility of charging the businesses a fee to defray some of the cost of the trailer rent was mentioned.

The committee continues to explore the issue of putting contracts in place with the municipalities that send their recyclables to the hub.

One of the findings in the State Comptroller’s investigation was that, with the exception of Franklin, the facility was operating without contracts with their other sources, including the city of Lewisburg.

Hunter commended the Marshall County Sheriff’s department for their assistance with providing inmates to work on the sorting line. Recently, available labor dipped to eight individuals but the Sheriff’s office quickly responded to Solid Waste’s request and bumped the number back up to 13, closer to the ideal number of 15 to maintain operations at the highest level.

The new software system aimed at better management of inventory and sales in the department is up and running and the department hopes to have good inventory numbers in the system within 30-60 days.

Grant inspectors from the state approved the working components of recently installed additions to the recycling line, resulting in approval of a $145,000 reimbursement to the department.

The bag vacuum system is still waiting on the needed part to bring it into service. Originally scheduled to ship Jan. 19, the new date to ship is Feb. 2. Once installed and working, the department will receive an additional $24,000.

The committee also approved a proposal, matching the one approved last month for Hunter, to offer Doug Giles an additional $500 per month to compensate for his added duties while the department operates without a permanent director.

The Solid Waste committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m.