- Let's call this meeting to order. The executive committee of the highest reduction district of Monroe County. In the room. County Councilor Kate Wilkes. Myself is about Emon Smith in the Fulton City Council and then on team we have a third member of our committee. Commissioner Julie Thomas.
- Welcome to all staff and CAC here as well. So first matter of business is approval of executive committee meeting minutes from July 1st. Is there a second?
- you're muted. If you tried to. I will second. And I had no correction. So it's good job times today. No directions for me. So what do you do
- Yes. Yes. Yes. All right, moving right along. Are there any comments about the board of directors meeting minutes July 10th? I wasn't there so. I thought there was some.
- There I can go back to the. There's something where they were like two words that were repeated. I don't. And it wasn't like. Confuse anybody. Go back through it again before we put the work back together. No, that just gets forwarded unless we have the issue with it.
- So we can go on to the Board of Directors and CS joint meeting from July 10th. Any comments on that one? We have
- presentation about declaration of surplus. Yes, so. Unfortunately, indicated in the memo and packet page 33. One of our new box trucks was involved in an accident beginning of July. I was declared total loss insurance company.
- and then the next agenda item we have one replacement
- that comes in. And you can see in the below we have a thousand dollar deductible insurance policy and three hundred fifty dollars and seventy five cents. Replacement is going to cost the financial impact to the district on the replacement. It turned out very well considering
- And I did and nobody was hurt. Nobody was hurt. We. We were our driver was declared at full following too close to a line of traffic. My understanding and. Somebody up front, 70% turned left and everybody got stopped except our truck. Our driver was not cited ready by a living violations that accident report system.
- So therefore we have this resolution to bring to the board declaring the total car, total truck service. We also have a second resolution to ask for the information. Yeah, and I would note behind the memo is the quote from the replacement vehicle that we ordered and then also the resolution
- twenty twenty five S twelve or declare short plus property number two under the now therefore does state that the title shall be transferred to insurance company as part of the so surplus property is just a category of longer use.
- So there is a little typo in the fourth, whereas where it says, the vehicle listed below as involved in a voter vehicle accident should be Woz. Any questions or comments on resolution 23.12, surface property?
- is addition 2025 13 plus the additional preparation. So we will. This will be appropriating from our cash balance, but then we will get revenue from the insurance company or no. The appropriation is going to be using to preserve unappropriated funds that are in the bank.
- this year we will show revenue for that insurance settlement sometime in the next week or so when that check comes in. And then would note, you know, the resolution 2025-13 is approving staff taking an additional request to the county council. After the board meeting we'll submit the agenda request to the council
- to get on their agenda to finalize. The amount is the lower amount, the 55 to 76, not the actual purchase price. 55 to 76.
- that's a little bit more than a thousand dollars. That's a little bit more.
- It's amazing that it was only $351. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty easy. It does. It does. The box is put shorter. 15 foot box. Here. I was in the accident with a 16 foot box, but truck drivers. Longer operations director. They're they're competent.
- there's not a bigger cost. That was. The session that had to be made in it sooner than like. Yeah, it's doing without it. I'm sure it's delaying some of the. In business. So when? When could we expect to? Saying the new truck.
- hopefully in September, the beginning of October. So, and then jump ahead a little bit. The agenda item further down talks about the September board meeting as it does every year that conflicts with the county council's budget work sessions. So, depending on what's pressing at that time, we either reschedule
- to cancel that meeting. So if, on the chance that that meeting winds up getting canceled, probably ask that the board meeting, assuming the additional appropriation is approved, since Coriano is not on our approved vendor list, that the board preemptively approves staff issuing that check if the truck should be delivered before the board meets.
- that we can complete that purchase. So you're going to add it to the August agenda? Well, I mean, does it need to be a specific agenda item? It doesn't need to be under resolution or it's just. And whatever your pledge of it, I'll put it on there however you want. I would just ask that if after
- If resolution 2025-13 is approved after that approval, will the motion be made to approve staff? Well, I would add that to the memo then. Don't leave it to chance. Okay, okay. We'll do that. Yeah, that makes sense. Any other comments or questions about resolution 25-13, especially from
- that we can move on to the budget. So operating fund debt service and capital fund.
- So projected revenue is here to 20, 20 times, a little over $11,000 more, but we had our budget workshop. It was all the original budget proposal we were showing reduced revenue from 2025. So it did result in almost a $20,000 increase in projected tax revenues over what we had originally budgeted for.
- That was nice to see. As indicated in the memo on page 40, starting on page 45, having that additional revenue did give staff the opportunity to put some expenses back in that visually cut out. It's a budget balancing measure that wasn't necessarily comfortable with.
- So we do still have what in essence is a balanced budget. I think we went from a $44 deficit to a $28 deficit in total. I can pull up the PowerPoint presentation if you'd like. You can highlight on those specific lines that changed, what was presented in July, or we can go through it line by line.
- Commissioner Thomas, did I see correctly as the Planned Commission Administrative Meeting this evening canceled? It is. Okay, so we don't have the same time crunch that we always have. We want to spend a little more time. But whatever your preference is, I think I tried in the memo,
- changes, particularly the category changes, 2025. I don't know that I did specific lines that increased what was presented in July, but I do have that in PowerPoint. What's the pleasure of the committee? Would you like to go through the slides? They are included in the package, but we can put them together if you'd like.
- They're included. You made the corrections that you've listed in the memos, so I don't need to go through it again, but I'll defer to my colleagues. Let's be outlined in our board meeting. You're very similar on that one. We'll be in the board meeting packet, and at the board meeting, we will. That's good for me, too.
- I just want to make sure it's public. And then the other, beyond the operating budget, the debt one, I did want to- Let's go. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I thought we were okay. Sorry. I wanted to clarify one thing on the operating budget, and I think I probably asked this in past years. We're looking at
- other income, there's a line for sales tax for orange bags. What is that? Since we sell them out of the household as waste facility now, that's a since it's a direct sale, we have to charge sales to collect Indiana sales tax. When we sell them to the retailers, you don't have to collect the sales tax because retail like that they sell them.
- So it's a revenue, but it's a passage. Yeah, there's a speech to this line for revenue sales tax. It's a pass through. Both numbers are 7% of what's estimated revenue estimated out of the orange bag sales from HHW. The expense is the expense line.
- So we don't have sales tax on anything else. All the other income lines are these shirts and shirts. Well, we did. That was through a vendor.
- Yeah, we we facilitate that sale, but they go to a website and work online and. Your best all of that. Same page of the PowerPoint still has type of heading that column heading to increase decrease for 2024. That should be 2027. Which do you remember page 50 of the packet?
- just the heading there. So if you could correct that for the board meeting packet. All right, does anybody have any other questions on the operating budget? Your question did raise one other.
- on the comparison sheet. A question was asked about the host speed. And if you look at the comparison sheet, the host speed should be 50% or a little bit more, even where we are in the year. We're not there. And that's Republic Services is behind, did send a notification of that. I've actually got a call back on that today. They said they had,
- a staff shake up and the lady that was responsible for processing that is no longer responsible and. New person was unaware. That was part of their duties so. So they are getting the past due checks issued and FedEx to us this week and then will be. That on our regular payment schedule with it so and that should be.
- the $30,000 range was passed due, which would bring us up to where we need to be, what this year's budget was, and what's projected for next year. OK, great. Thank you. I'm glad that they are catching their payments. I guess we can move along to the
- service. Yeah, yeah, that's uh not a not a good situation. Unfortunately, um but oh the lights went out. We still have one. We still have to go. They're still on it. Okay. It wasn't the emotion actually. I felt that. Yeah. So that is some fan went off too. So I don't know what to do this but you can still see and hear us
- So the way that I was explaining to us by our DLGF rep at this workshop is that the June tax disbursement is supposed to cover the first payment of the year, which we make in February. The December is supposed to cover the second payment of the year, which we make in August.
- that we have a substantial balance of balance at the end of the year
- And then we have a last payment due in February of twenty twenty seven. If I understood her right, they will actually set the levy twenty twenty seven so that June and December disbursements combined will balance the account. So the operating fund is going to have to loan money to the debt fund for each of the next three payments. At the end of December twenty seven,
- should be able to transfer that money back and balance everything out. Teresa, does that coincide with what you recall from that workshop? Yes. Why for the next three? Because we'll get a disbursement of tax revenues this December.
- We'll pay that in February. Well, so why is that? But it's not enough. What are our bank balance at the end of the year, what our projected bank balance at the end of the year is going to be about $10,000 short of what we owe in February. How did that happen? Well, it's the way that they, the way that the DLTF rep explained it.
- It's because the. We've we've gone. I guess we have always approached this backwards, but opposite of what the state. We've always looked at the December disbursement to pay February, June 12. They look at it from your first half of the year payment covered is covered by the June disbursement. Your second half of your payment is covered by the December disbursement. As we pay in February and August. Which I.
- I think it was the schedule that resulted from when the bond was refinanced in 2012. It screwed things up, I don't know how else to say it. She was confident, the rep was confident that December of 2027, that disbursement should balance everything out.
- going to be sure for me to the next three payments because payments are scheduled and disbursements fall and the fact that we're going to add $147,000 balance in that account at the end of December because of the December dispersion. Okay, so it's probably not because the
- that we're still going to get revenue that expires in the last payment is due to February twenty seven but we're still going to get revenue. We're still going to get to dispersion and twenty twenty seven. Yeah. So it's just misaligned. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Final payment being at the beginning of the year, it
- we're not going to be able to do that. We have we have we have enough unappropriated reserves moving the money around. It's not going to be the problem. We'll we'll come to the board for that money
- three times over the next two years. I still don't understand why it's off by two tax revenue dispersants. Like we're paying the last payment February 1st. I understand if we would have to wait till June to cover that, but why do we also have to wait?
- Levees are an annual amount. It's calendar year. Levees are an annual amount, calendar year. They can't front load our disbursement, but we only have the one payment. Is the disbursement usually more in December than June, or is it equal? June is usually the higher disbursement. Not significantly. At least for us, because we're not
- it's not that big. It's property tax, right? Yes. So more people pay them in the first payment. Yes. Okay, well. We have a sufficient balance. Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, it would be a nightmare if we didn't have the reserves. So I guess I'm thinking, so we met with the LTS.
- their expectation that you would have about the operating balance? That doesn't our operating fund does not factor into how they calculate the tax levy for the debt service. Never think that. That could really be problematic. It's just where I guess. Yeah, I mean, do they recommend an operating balance be kept by
- I guess that specifically hasn't been asked or brought up. I got it. The way she explained it this year, I have to say no, because part of our issue is because we get the December disbursement, it's not going to be spent in December. We're going to have $147,000 in the account.
- that they think was attributed from their perspective of attributed to the August payment. So that's the back to them. That's a operating balance. So that negatively impacts. That's I mean, that's if you look at the budget sheet. Our budgets by $80,000 short for next year. That that's because the out. I'm sure why.
- and we haven't been in this situation in years past. We would have been at that balance at the end of each year. Not the same amount necessarily. Get that December disperse, but it sits there until we make the secondary payment. In this situation here, but because we're approaching the end now and. Acting this way now.
- that last payments in February 27th. Yeah, I see projected cash balance at this year of. That's just what you will have to pay. So under fifty five hundred December revenues will used to pay. That's we get those revenues, but we don't pay them at the same right now. We have always used those to make
- you guys figure that out in advance. Yes. To default with two payments. Sir Thomas, any questions or comments on that? Then the third budget is the cumulative capital fund, which is
- Nothing's budgeted, but we do it. So we had. So we have the budget on file. They just let us get something happens and we need to appropriate money out of that. Cut a few steps out of that process by topping a budget. And the only thing that I think the beginning balances. House talent a little more than it's on July 1st.
- on that one. On to the question of the board meetings. Tim, what do you would expect about as far as business? Well, I'm going to jump ahead to all other items.
- getting drugged into an EPA Superfund consent decree for a site in South Carolina that we apparently, our vendor apparently in 1997 took some of our household waste material to. We don't really have control over. And when you're dealing with, I mean, you know, unfortunately household hazardous waste
- Once it gets into the waste stream, it's managed as hazardous materials. So where it goes depends on relationship vendors have with facilities and where those facilities are. I mean, the manifest, the bill of ladings are there. I actually have confirmed with some former employees that the vendor need is, we did in fact,
- in the late 90s at that time. So looking at that, we have been provided an offer of settlement to release us of all liabilities for a little under $30,000. The insurance policy in place at the time
- at a $50,000 self-insured retention. Insurance company just washed their hands. Attorney's office, this is beyond our scope. I had a connection at a law firm. It's a worldwide law firm.
- This is not her bailing with it, but she did give me two names of colleagues within the firm that I reached out to and waiting on a response. Basically, at this point, just asking them, give me an hour of their time, pay all paying for it. Let's review this, tell us what they think our liability is, if any exists. If we have liability,
- We take the settlement and walk away. We try to negotiate something. They don't think that we have any liability. Is it worth fight or like I can imagine something like this? We can rack up $30,000 in defense expenses pretty quick. So we have some time to respond. To the offer that's been made.
- So that may or may not be ready for action. By the time this September forward being followed. Backstep and tell us what the legal action. About the site it for what is so it's a it's a half material site that I think I did in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Yes, materials.
- 1997 materials from our House of Veterans Affairs Assembly were sent to for disposal. So that site issues, there's contamination, the EPA has stepped in and issued a consent decree mandating cleanup of the site. So the way that the laws, rules, and regulations governing cash material work, if you get in those situations,
- Liabilities can exist all the way back to the generator of that material. That's us. So we are Recreate Resource Recovery Conservation Act. We are Recreate Recept. I don't know if that indicates any potential liability in this situation or not. I've closed that budget.
- But we're, we're, we're exempt because we deal with health care. In essence, by definition, we're not asking for care. So, so, but what that means as things move down the line,
- I don't know. I've asked that question. This is new? Tom, which attorneys did you talk to about this locally? Did you talk to our county attorney? Who did you talk to? I talked to the county attorney's office and they said this is beyond our scope. Okay, and then our insurance company
- At that time, our insurance company had a minimum of 50,000 where coverage began, so we're responsible for the first 50,000, correct? Okay. And I don't know what you're talking about with exempt, but I don't think that matters. So I think the thing to do is to figure out, I think yes, you need to talk to an attorney
- who specializes in this field. And I do think that one of the other questions to ask is if that liability can go back to the person who moved the goods into that location or sold that location space as a storage space for household hazardous waste.
- And the other thing I would do, Tom, is I would recommend talking to other solid waste districts in the state to see if any of them have also had this contact, had this letter, had this offer settlement. Because if that's the case, then it's probably
- an option to class action against the person who moved the goods and chose that location. But it depends on how many there are. Oh yeah, I'm actually going to the monthly household hazardous waste task force meeting with Joey tomorrow and was going to bring this up. The other laid law environmental services was the vendor at the time and
- They went bankrupt. They no longer exist. But they have an insurance company from that time. Yeah, so the question of where does liability lie? How far does it extend? Yeah, that's something that we need to figure out. We're not going to solve it here. No. But that's. And so as far as.
- That is the one issue, I guess, that I have sitting on my plate that potentially could be ready for action in September, but there's no guarantee. But I know that the council and probably the commissioner's office are going to push me to do something with that meeting on their calendar because it overlaps with the work section.
- the near future they're going to want to know are you rescheduling are you canceling so that they can clear the so when their website calendar doesn't look like they're simultaneous meetings or at the same place i can work i can work with them can we go back yeah i don't know what you're asking us to decide because it seems like you don't know i'm not asking i'm not asking you just to decide anything at this time i just because it's not
- if we're going to cancel or reschedule the board meeting, that's the board's decision, not mine, not the executive committee's big recommendation. So. Well, I wanted to go back a step and write down in my notes who this vendor was back in 1997. You said Laidlaw. Anybody want to read the packet? Thank you.
- So the facility in question, it's Phillips Services site in Rock Hill, South Carolina. And a vendor that we used in 1997 for the loads of art that have been identified in the question.
- I think it's wise like Julie said to get like you said to get the
- I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know.
- on this possible lawsuit involvement. Any opinions from committee members about the September meeting, whether we should try to reschedule? So that may come up. Any other business? At this point, as long as we have approval to
- If the truck comes in, I can't think of anything else. It's pressing that would be action, but. And I would also, I will say I have communicated with the attorneys. Jackson Walker, law firm that sent this and I'll let her know.
- My situation, our situation with regard to insurance coverage and the attorney and she seemed very amenable to adjusting deadlines and working with us to allow us to make sure that we're making the right decision. Is there a deadline? There is a deadline.
- 45 days from receipt, July 3rd. We're almost there. Yeah, we're about two weeks. I mean, that's, yeah. I mean, if you're hearing that there are extensions to the deadline possible, you need to get that in writing. Yeah, we've been communicating with email
- hoping that this week, I told her that hopefully by the end of this week, we would have legal counsel identified and I would be in a position to suggest to her a timeline of what we might be able to respond, so. The only thing I would recommend is just get somebody lined up now for legal or just set aside some money that we can approve from the budget if need be at the next meeting.
- the next regular board meeting, and that way we don't have to worry about this. This is just a lot of discussion about something we don't have any control over, and I just don't know why we're spending a lot of time on it, honestly. No, Julie, I think that's the thing. We're the responsible party, so we need to know what's going on. No, what I'm saying is what we don't know is much greater than what we do know, and if the concern about the meeting in September is, oh my gosh, we might have to,
- meet with an attorney, which is gonna cost money, then go ahead and set aside what you think is an appropriate dollar amount for two different attorneys or one attorney, and we can consider that at the board meeting, and then you'll have the money available if you need it. We currently have $5,000 appropriated for legal fees in this year's budget, which is certainly,
- to get us to a point, I mean, if we just, if the decision is we're gonna accept the settlement, cut them to check and be done with it, 5,000 is gonna cover those legal expenses. And it will get, and it's enough to get us to the point to decide, okay, we need to appropriate funding to fight this and- Okay. Well, then I wouldn't, then I don't see any need to meet in September. We can always get an update by email or at our executive committee meeting.
- Okay, what do you think? Yeah, I mean, if we don't have any business, it would be more difficult to try to schedule a meeting, schedule being so difficult. It's worse.
- we can ask the board to cancel the meeting of its board meeting. I should have more information by the board meetings about what's going on here. It may or may not impact that decision. Do we have a executive committee meeting scheduled that we would have?
- Yes, we do still have that executive committee being scheduled. September 2nd. Is that? That one we can. We don't have to do anything with that. Interesting.
- I'm not sure if that's a good idea. But the committee meeting there's no conflict that we can let them go. We can we can cancel that right before the meeting is scheduled if there's not a need to meet so we can decide that we can decide that
- agenda which is any other items that are important to discuss. I wanted to ask about the
- neighborhood composting program and the apps that we've talked about that might work to match people who want to compost with people who have compost piles, use the finished compost. There was some mention of that, Joe mentioned to me. Yeah. That access being explored. Yes. Yeah, I don't know if you want to pick it up, Jonathan. Oh, sorry.
- along the lines of what we have been discussing and imagining, I guess, dreaming to be the end case for the neighborhood composting program to have a weather service people could sign up for to connect with each other, as Isabella just described. And so it turns out there is a camp that also has a web browser-based service that does exactly that. It's called Make Soil. So there is an option to
- It currently exists and free to everyone as users, but there's also an option for municipalities or larger organizations to partner with them to get promotional material and additional resources, rights to use some of their options that they offer. So that's something that we're discussing as an option to supplement the neighborhood competency program. Yeah, Tom, if you had any
- I think I think he indicated that there might be some room to negotiate. All. Below or in between some of the prescribed levels that they have. Three level. Partnering levels that were shared with us for 10,000 $15,000 and $20,000 a year.
- What do we get for that? Well, that's just that. I mean, we get partnering to get assistance with them with regard to promotional materials, educational materials, assistance helping us develop ways to promote, market, using mixed soil and expanding the composting network in the community and then adapt.
- They go, you know, based on participants and stuff, they will track. And they have formula algorithms to give estimates for quantities of material that are being composted. They get that. It's there. We can start pushing people or encouraging people to get on that app and use it.
- and then we get help making that happen. We get information on how many people are participating, how much material is being converted. I don't know that I'm ready to go tell the board that we absolutely have to do this. It's intriguing though. I'm looking at it. I want to look at it more.
- back with them and see what other cost options are out there. By spending $5,000. Yeah, we can promote it. Is Councilor Thomas not on the meeting? She's still here. Not Councilor, Commissioner.
- the data point is probably, to my mind, the most important because if we could promote it without having the partnership, we track how much we're diverting from landfill would be nice. Yeah, I mean, that's, that's how you age affected this and something like that.
- I would wanna see the program really take off, expand outside the city as well, and really show that it's doing something before spending money on this. I mean, just to track how much waste is being diverted, that's not worth $5,000. There's other things we could spend $5,000 on to actually divert waste, rather than just count it. So I think it's too soon. Well, no, we haven't yet.
- We haven't even developed a plan to promote this. So yeah, that's certainly, it makes sense to try voting at first, see how many people sign up. We could try to informally keep track, you know, people sign up. Well, you can't, I'm remembering right from the website at least, you go on the website and you should be able to see
- How many people have registered on the app that want to take material? How many people have registered on the app that want to give their food waste material to somebody? You should be able to get some of those numbers. I think you would only see sites that are accepting material. Because those appear for any other user to be able to find. I don't think we would have any valid trust.
- I will note that one of the services that was offered at their lowest level says official partner clearance to use to make soil brand promo materials on website and social media. So maybe a good question would be how much do they permit us to use to to promote their services? Without paying. You think they want to promote their service? Say who? So yeah, I I know we can like promote it by word of mouth,
- with them and start using their promotional materials or advertising them on the website if they have a cost associated with it by one consideration. Yeah, I mean that's something they have. Yeah, now in Cincinnati is a community partner. City of Cincinnati, so you know there might also be an opportunity. Somebody that's a couple hours away to talk to them about their experience with.
- with mixed soil in that program and they got out of it. Yeah, so I think it's worth investigating a little more. Maybe I'll sign up and see. See how many sites there are. Did you just do that? There's only one site sitting in this room.
- Actually, no, that's right. You're going to take you want to. Yeah, we've also not referred anyone who signed up to the neighborhood compost connect program to this service yet. We have almost. Yeah, we have almost 300 responses to our just general survey for people interested in their neighborhood council program, but we haven't.
- sent a blanket response saying, hey, this exists, sign up. And this app is almost exactly what the Organic Waste Task Force has envisioned setting up a composting app. Right, thank you. Well, that's great. It's already made. Yeah, but I think Mr. Thomas, you know, I absolutely disagree with her here. If we can, let's push it.
- Put the name out there and first people to sign up and. It's working out too. Well, I mean, there's nothing that we can't necessarily use their logo, but there's nothing you know we can't put on our social media. Hey, check this out. We discovered out there. Yeah, yes, I don't think there's anything that I prevent that and you know and then we can go out there and watch and see what kind of participation and how it's growing before we make a decision about investing in.
- Speaking of the neighborhood composting program, is the one site up and running now? It is. She has to. I don't. Like it's just she's I do to follow up with her. Check in.
- she hasn't screamed at us. It's blowing up in her face, but. Sometimes notice. Anything else or a bit of the order? I was. The next part of the multifamily.
- program coming to have any new sites? I don't yet. I've actually read the rest of this. I have a full set of equipment complete. I'm about to reach out to two property management companies that expressed interest in the past by establishing a second site and just haven't followed up with me. Yeah, new residents will be moving in the next three weeks, right? Yeah. Is there something else?
- Be our journey. Thank you.