Mille Lacs withdrawal from solid waste commission could cost them $1 million

Posted 5/16/01

Mille Lacs withdrawal from solid waste commission could cost them $1 million

By Danielle Strenke

After detailed analysis of the financial and legal implications of the withdrawal of Mille Lacs County from the East Central Solid Waste Commission, it was determined the county would be required to repay its portion of the bond debt before withdrawal could be completed. The base cost for withdrawal from the five-county joint powers agreement is estimated at around $1 million.

The ECSWC met Monday to further discuss Mille Lacs possible withdrawal. Executive Director Allen Bonini told the board that additional costs would be incurred by Mille Lacs before it would be allowed to withdrawal, such as environmental and landfill closure liabilities. Isanti County Commis-sioner George Larson said he would like to see a figure that would include the time invested in completing research and analysis into the impact of the withdrawal by ECSWC, including Boniniís time, and the time of ECSWC attorney David Oberstar.

Chisago County Commis-sioner Bob Gustafson said his board debated withdrawing from the commission several years ago. ěWe went through this a couple of years ago, we did the research and the way the joint powers is written, it doesnít make sense to withdraw,î he said. ěYou are bound by so many responsibilities.î

Mille Lacs County Commis-sioner Paul Reiman, who was not on the commission last year when the first request for consideration of withdrawal was made, realized they were talking about a figure that would most likely be larger than $1 million. ěIt looks like $1 million just to pay off the bond, and that doesnít include the liability end of it,î he said.

Reiman told the rest of the commission that the county board had received the completed analysis of the withdrawal with materials for its next board meeting. The commission asked that Bonini draw up a condensed version of the analysis with the financial implications ěin black and white,î Larson said.

ěThat would give us an exact dollar amount, saying this is what youíre required to pay,î Pine County Commissioner Alan Hancock said.

Bonini said he was taking the advice of Oberstar, with the agreement of the commission, to meet with bond council to discuss the specifics of the withdrawal. He hoped to have something drawn up for dispersal to the county boards before the commissionís next meeting.

The ECSWC also authorized the purchase of a track-style bulldozer for the Mora landfill facility, in preparation of the commission taking over landfill operations July 1. The commission debated the fiscal practicalities of purchasing the equipment rather than leasing it at this time.

Commissioners asked for a break down on pricing for lease versus buy. Bonini said purchasing would show a savings of roughly $6,000 a year over the five-year term. ěSo it will cost us $30,000 to lease rather than buy,î Larson said.

Bonini said he had endorsed the leasing option to stay fiscally conservative. ěIím here to be conservative unless you tell me otherwise,î he said, adding that some larger projects would use up much of the commissionís cash reserve. He told the commission that landfill costs of $600,000 and other projects would cut the commissionís reserves down to around $200,000. ěWe have a lot of cash issues coming up here," he said. ěReally we have a decision whether to purchase it outright, and have about $200,000 in our cash flow, or we would have $425,000 with the lease,î Larson said.

A motion was made by commissioner Gustafson to approve the leasing of the equipment, but failed to pass. After much discussion, a unanimous vote approved the purchase of the dozer, at a sticker price of $219,000.

The purchase will be conducted through a purchasing agreement with the state of Minnesotaís Materials Manage-ment Division.

Due to a conflict, the commissionís June meeting was changed to Thursday, June 14 at 9 a.m.