County Looking At Trash Hauling Takeover
By Jon A. Brake

The strong winds of Socialism have been blowing from Manhattan City Hall to
the Riley County Courthouse.
The City wants to takeover the Child Care Industry putting local care
givers out of business. Now the County Commission is in the process of
making the trash hauling business a government entity.
The Riley County Solid Waste Management Committee will hold a meeting
tonight, starting at 6:00 at the Fire Station at Kimball & Denison to
consider adding a chapter to the Solid Waste Management Plan calling for a
"publicly controlled municipal solid waste collection in Riley County."
The Commission feel the move is required because some trash haulers are
taking their loads out of county. This has caused a $9,132.72 short fall in
the Riley County Transfer Station revenues.
Understand, the Riley County Commission has increased the County budget
from $12 million in 1991 to more than $25 million in 1999. They have all
the money in the world to conduct County business. The $9 thousand is
nothing but the Commissioners are using that as a reason to takeover the
trash hauling business in Riley County.
In 1994 the County built the transfer station for $2.2 million. The plan at
the time was for half of the debt service to be paid with property tax
revenue, and the other half with transfer station gate fee revenue. The
plan worked from 1994 to 1998. This year the gate fees have failed to pay
the 50 percent.
In May, Dan Harden, Riley County Public Works Director recommended the
tipping fees be increased from $3.26 per tipped ton to $3.76 per tipped ton
to make up for the short fall.
Here is a letter the County Commissioners

Dear Riley County Solid Waste
Management Committee

The Board of County Commissioners requests the Riley County Solid Waste
Management Committee amend the Riley County Solid Waste Management plan to
include a waste collection chapter complete with goals and objectives. This
Board feels this modification to the plan is needed because it is the
Board's observation that some members of the community are not working to
accomplish the goals and objective of the solid waste management plan. This
board feels that by including a waste collection element in the solid waste
management plan, this problem can be addressed. Specifically, the Board is
interested in publicly controlled municipal solid waste collection in Riley
County.
The transfer station goal as stated in the Riley County solid waste
management plan is "Continue to maintain a quality transfer station to
process for transport all of Riley County's present and future solid waste
in an economical manner." One of the transfer station objectives states "To
have all Riley County municipal solid waste delivered to the permanent
transfer station for processing". Current collection practices deny the
accomplishment of this goal and this objective. The Board feels that if
public controlled collection of municipal solid waste is in place, the
other goals in the solid waste management plan can be achieved.
The goal of this commission is to insure all aspects of the solid waste
management plan are carried out to the benefit of all Riley Countians. We
look forward to your recommendations.
Board of County Commissioners
Riley County, Kansas
James H. Williams
Russell A. Frey
 
 
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