ECSWC to get new director

By Barbara Brown
The East Central Solid Waste Commission (ECSWC) last week interviewed five candidates for the position of director.
The commission is expected to announce its choice at a special meeting this Friday.
The Brimeyer Group Inc. had been hired to seek out and screen applicants for the director position.
Those who applied and made the cut to the final interview were Don Wallgren, Dennis Siems, Gene Kramer, Kevin Dixon and Dean Ulrich.
Each of the men was given a tour of the solid waste facility, met with staff and consultants to get a run-down of the commissionís projects and had an interview with the full board.
Interviews were conducted throughout the day June 9.
Also at the commissionís June 9 meeting, Carolyn Drude, a consultant with Ehlers and Associates, presented an option to the board that the commission refinance $5 million in bonds it currently holds from 1994 and 1997.
The board voted to let Ehlers solicit bids for refinancing those bonds and that information will be presented July 14.
Also at the meeting, acting director Janelle Troupe told the board that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency had given the ECSWC until June 6 to repair a leachate leakage problem in the Phase 4 area.
The commission was ordered to remove the leachate, move contaminated dirt and install a backup pump.
However, the project was delayed because the new
back-up pump was not at the commissionís Mora facility by June 6.
Thatís when staff discovered ìa further problem existed,î Troupe said.
She said staff on site went to the tank area to check on it and found leachate about 3 feet deep. The product had seeped 15-20 feet into the surrounding dirt and has compounded the problems with the Phase 4 location.
The engineer contracted by the board said two things contributed to the problem. He said the 8,000 gallon tank was full and the pumps shut off, allowing the leachate to build up and another pump broke.
The board ordered staff to investigate the problem, but then continued to discuss with the engineer the bills he had been presenting to the board for approval.
Board Chairman George Larson, Isanti County, asked the engineer why his company bid the Phase 4 improvements at about $75,000 and the contract had already been billed nearly $70,000 and construction had not yet begun.
The engineer said his services are expensive at about $125 per hour, as are the services of the companyís field inspector, who makes about $43 per hour.
ìThe engineer had a budget of $75,000,î Larson said. ìWeíre now up to $70,000 and youíre talking $140,000 for the whole job.î
He said he has attended several meetings free of charge and will continue to do so until the contract is up.
The engineer told the board he would continue to monitor the bill.

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