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Solid waste officials hire plannerBy Danielle Strenke At its meeting Monday, the ECSWC met with Devin Moose and Phillip Kowalski of Envirogen, an Illinois-based company. The firm was awarded the bid for completing the strategic plan after interviewing with the commissionís selection committee. Executive Director Allen Bonini said Envirogen presented a plan that seemed to best fit the needs of the commission, and their proposal was the lowest in cost. Moose said the project would begin with collecting data on the commission, the five-county area, and reviewing historical records. It will include research such as an assessment of the current infrastructure, identifying partnership opportunities, and holding meetings at various levels, such as meetings with county commissioners and other officials, haulers, business and community members, and other interested parties. It will conclude with a final report to discuss the conclusions for a strategic plan, tentatively set to include all commissioners from the five counties at one meeting. Commissioner Denny McNally of Kanabec County said he still had reservations about spending the money for this plan. ìI guess the whole figure is more than I expected to spend,î he said. ìI had thought when we hired you [Bonini] this would be something you could do.î Bonini said the strategic planning process would be so immense, it would virtually be a full-time job if he had to do it alone, and would take considerably longer than 18 months. ìIf you recall, we expected it to be between $130,000 and $150,000,î Bonini said. ìSo weíve known about the cost of this for months.î The four other commissioners felt that the process would be worthwhile. ìI looked at it too, because I watch every dollar we spend, but is it worth it? I think it is,î Commissioner Alan Hancock said. ìItís a valid point, but it should have been brought up three months ago,î Commissioner George Larson said. ìThis is what Iím hoping forñwe never seem to know where weíre going up here. It would be nice to have a roadmap for 20 years or 10 years out or even to the end of the charter,î he said. The commission was concerned that all five county boards be kept involved in the process. ìThis contract doesnít include an all-county meeting,î Larson said. Moose told the commission that over 100 hours had been included for task force and various meetings. ìWe donít know yet if that time is better served by meeting with your commission, or getting all the counties together or meeting with as many people as possible,î he said. He added that he envisioned a half-day workshop detailing the outcomes of the strategic planning process, whether it will be for all the county commissioners, or everyone included on a task force. ìWe can always add meetings with our boards too,î Larson said. ìI think Iíd like that and I suspect most counties would.î Bonini said Envirogen would be spending a full two weeks worth of time during the 18-month span in the five-county area. The rest of the time, Bonini will be relating weekly progress reports to the commission. The commission voted unanimously to hire Envirogen, with costs for the project not to exceed $131,506. Moose and Kowalski asked for a workshop meeting to start the process. It will be held following the commissionís April 8 meeting, which begins at 8 a.m. ©ECM Post Review |