Town makes progress on recycling, but questions remain

The Lovell recycling program is still in limbo, but progress was made Tuesday night during a presentation and ensuing discussion about the program’s future at the Lovell Town Council meeting.Longtime local recycling advocate Christy Fleming began the discussion by presenting an updated plan and budget for the program to the council that she said saves the town money by changing potential work hours for a town employee running the program from four hours per day for five days a week to four hours per day for four days a week.The change would allow the town to realize about $2,000 more per year in revenue from recycled material than under the five-day plan, Fleming said, which she hopes could be used for direct support to the Powell Valley Recycling Center, leaving around $1,500 per year for trailer maintenance and the like.Powell Valley Recycling board member Marynell Oechsner also attended Tuesday’s council meeting and took the council through a presentation about the history and current reorganization efforts of the center in Powell.Oechsner said Powell Valley Recycling shipped 43,380 pounds of newspaper and 43,400 pounds of cardboard in December, noting that the material comes from “the entire Basin.”She said PVR operated on a budget of around $110,221 in fiscal year 2014-15, realizing just $841 in profit. The operation has experienced deficit spending since then due to the falling price of commodities. Beyond the sale of commodities, Oechsner said PVR receives around $4,900 to $5,400 per month in fees charged on City of Powell utility bills at $2 per month for each customer and $7,000 from Park County.The annual appropriation from the county covers most of the organization’s monthly mortgage payment, Oechsner said, noting that the organization owes around $110,000 on its current building. City of Powell resident fees cover most of the four part-time employee salaries each month.Commodity income has traditionally covered the cost of utility bills and expenses like accounting fees, maintenance and repair of equipment, Oechsner said.The retirement of longtime PVR manager Mary Jo Decker led to the current uncertainty surrounding the organization, but Oechsner said a recent board decision to eliminate the manager position and have the board manage the center will result in a substantial cost savings. The organization has also realized savings by reducing public hours of operation to Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Due to low prices, PVR no longer pays customers for aluminum, but many people bring in cans anyway, Oechsner said.Oechsner said the board is advertising for a part-time skid steer operator, which will add an additional salary obligation to the budget.The board of directors is currently short two members after some resigned “when the going got tough,” Oechsner said, adding that the rest of the board and volunteers are pitching in to run the operation.“We have some very dedicated employees and volunteers,” she said. “We’re committed to keeping Powell Valley Recycling open.”Oechsner said the town and Lovell citizens can help by sorting recyclable to eliminate garbage prior to delivery, calling PVR at 754-9773 to arrange for a drop-off, supporting the organization financially or volunteering to serve on the board of directors.Asked if the town could bring the recycling trailers on Tuesdays and Thursdays with advance notice, Oechsner suggested that the town work it out with “the guys” running the center, adding, “I don’t think it would be a problem.”Oechsner told the council that PVR would welcome any financial support the town could provide, saying, “Anything you can do would be very much appreciated and help keep the doors open.”Fleming recommended that the town stay with Powell Valley Recycling, calling it “the best option,” but she also said, if needed, the town could take cardboard to Basin for baling, noting that a Town of Basin official told her a Lovell employee would be welcome to use the baler the town owns.She added that the Lovell High School Honor Society and the vocational education department have volunteered to help sort recyclables, which would save the Town of Lovell money.Fleming said taking trailers to Powell four times a week is probably the most viable option at this time, noting that a town employee could spend two of his or her four hours per day making the delivery and two hours preparing the next load like sorting and breaking down boxes, as well as maintenance. She said when the Park Service was organizing the effort, volunteers would take the trailers three times per week and could have gone four or even five times a week. If businesses are allowed to use the service, the town could have to deliver every say, she said.Agreement mulledTown attorney Sandra Kitchen reviewed the proposed agreement between the National Park Service and the town for use of the Park Service owned trailers – cardboard and multi-bin – which had to be pulled from operation in early December due to the reduced hours at PVR. She pointed out where some changes need to be made and said the council needs to carefully consider whether it wants to indemnify the U.S. Government.With the concern about liability at the forefront, Kitchen said it would be best if the trailers could be given to the town, noting that the trailers could later be given (or sold at a small cost) back to the Park Service later.Fleming said Bighorn Canyon NRA Supt. John Bundy doesn’t want the Park Service to “surplus” the trailers to the town, noting that if the Park Service retains ownership of the trailers, the NPS would have money for projects that could be used to replace the trailers when needed.Since neither side can agree on liability, councilman Bruce Wolsey asked if liability could be removed from the agreement, and councilman Brian Dickson suggested that Fleming and Kitchen hash out the details.With the complicated issues swirling, councilman Kevin Jones asked what the recycling trailers currently in use cost the Park Service. Fleming said the agency paid around $5,000 per trailer, and Oechsner said trailers could cost even less than that. The Park Service trailers may be more expensive because they were manufactured to be bear proof, Fleming and Oechsner said.“It might be cheaper if we buy them,” Mayor Angel Montanez said, and Fleming said the existing trailers could easily be used in the national recreation area.“Let’s look at buying our own trailers,” Dickson said, and Jones asked town administrator Jed Nebel to look into the cost of new trailers.Fee ordinanceThe council next discussed the ordinance to enact a fee to support recycling at $1.50 per month for households and $3 per month for businesses. The ordinance was tabled on third reading in December.Montanez said he supports moving ahead with the ordinance, but Allred worried about putting the cart before the horse, and Dickson said he would like to see a better business plan, noting that the cost of a $16 per hour employee would actually be higher than Fleming’s proposal states. He said overhead for the employee needs to be factored into the budget and the hours and pay scale need to be studied. He asked Nebel to work with Fleming to “tweak” the recycling plan.With that, the council voted to table the ordinance for the second straight month.For now, the recycling program remains dormant in Lovell, the Park Service having turned the operation over to the Town of Lovell as of Jan. 1.In other proceedings Tuesday:• Clerk/Treasurer Valerie Beal read disclosures of interest in local financial institutions for the mayor, council and town officials.• The council voted to approve First Bank of Wyoming, the Bank of Lovell and Big Horn Federal as official depositories of the Town of Lovell, along with the state Wyo-Star program. The council designated the Lovell Chronicle as the official newspaper of the Town of Lovell.• DOWL engineer Ross Besson reported that the Lovell lift station project at the sewer lagoons is just about finished, with the pump station to be tested later this week with a representative of the manufacturer arriving to work with town employees. If the tests show all is OK, a new manhole would be installed and the pumps would be tested for 20 days or more. After that, the force main to the sewer lagoons would be completed, Besson said.• The council voted to authorize the mayor to sign the certificate of acceptance for the Wyoming Dept. of Transportation for the Main Street water and sewer project that wrapped up last year.• After a presentation from Besson, the council voted to authorize the mayor to sign an amendment to the engineering contract with DOWL for the lift station project in the amount of up to an additional $20,000, which Besson said was necessitated by a need to replace valves at the sewer lagoon site.• With County Planner Joy Hill in attendance to answer any questions, the council voted to approve the final plat for the Jarski-Long Subdivision plat, for a simple subdivision just to the south of the town limits but still within the town’s purview, according to state law. The council had tabled the subdivision agreement to await more information. Tuesday’s vote authorizes the mayor to sign the final plat when it is ready.• The council discussed a requested right of entry agreement with Chris Manley of Union Wireless out of Casper. The agreement would allow Union Wireless employees to enter the rodeo grounds property where the future elevated water tank will be located in order to study the feasibility of erecting a cell tower on the property.Manley asked the town for a longer time period than 90 days, noting the cold of a Wyoming winter. The council agreed to the right of entry agreement with an extension through June 30 and asked Councilman Allred to work with Union on assessing the property in light of projects for the property the town has in mind.• The council approved Nebel as the town’s voting delegate for the upcoming Wyoming Association of Municipalities winter workshop in February in Cheyenne.• The council set a special meeting for next Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 12:30 p.m. and a work meeting for Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m.

By David Peck