Recycling, Reimbursements Led Council Business
During the Kosciusko County Council meeting Thursday night, Shelly Heckert of the Kosciusko County Solid Waste District presented a slideshow account of 2012 in review.
Since the county provides funds to the KCSWD, the presentation served to show how the money was spent. That included putting a new facade on the building at 220 S. Union St., Warsaw, which was necessary after a large leak damaged the building.
A new addition was also built onto the facility and insulation was added which has reduced the heating and cooling bills.
Funds were also used for promotion of recycling by way of participating in home and garden shows, area festivals and special events, and through school and service group education. By comparison, the slideshow indicated that in 2007 only 880 people were reached through education. Last year, that number surpassed 4,000.
Among the KCSWD’s greatest income source in 2012 was from the Hoosier Landfill. Although Heckert didn’t have the details of the program, she explained that a host agreement with the landfill pays the district by the ton for waste that is collected. That source of income last year was $252,480.
In all, the district took in over $366,000 last year, a profit, according to councilman Doug Heinisch, of about $15,000.
Following the presentation, Heckert was asked why the district stopped accepting glass at its recycling centers. She explained that people were putting the wrong types of glass – such as windows – in the dumpsters and recyclers would not accept it. “It came down to economics,” she said. “It was a business decision.”
In other business, the council approved two reimbursements, one for the sheriff’s department and one for the highway department. The sheriff’s department was paid $1,000 by the family of a Milford teen who damaged a police cruiser with a skid loader on Dec. 8, 2012. (See story) The $1,000 was the deductible the county paid to get the squad car repaired.
The county highway department was reimbursed $11,132.42 from the Indiana Department of Transportation. That money came from an unofficial detour motorists were using while the SR 15 bridge at Claypool was repaired. INDOT reimbursed the county for road repairs that became necessary.
It was announced that, beginning May 1, all county office department heads will be receiving paperwork allowing them to begin work on 2014 budgets.
The next county council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11. Councilman Larry Teghtmeyer said the Kosciusko Economic Development Commission will be meeting earlier that day to discuss the Tax Increment Finance district for TruPointe, the company bringing a new agricultural processing facility to Milford. (See related story) He said the matter will come to the council for a vote as well.