An opportunity to make some extra cash has spurred city of Shawano officials to ask Shawano County to hold off on their joint plan to close the Shawano Landfill on Dec. 31.
County officials appear to be OK with the request, with a few caveats.
Shawano County Executive Committee members discussed a proposed memorandum of understanding Sept. 3. The landfill is currently the responsibility of the city and the county.
In it, the city agreed to take on all operational costs of the landfill, transfer station and recycling center, as well as the closure process and closure costs once the landfill is filled, presumably in 2028.
County Board Chairman Tom Kautza’s biggest concern was with when the county would get the funds now held by the city to pay for the long-term maintenance of the closed landfill.
“If the county is the one going to be responsible for the long-term care, the county should be holding on to that money,” Kautza said.
Rules require the county must pay for long-term care of the landfill, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources dictates how much money should be put into that account each year.
The MOU states the city will transfer the funds, estimated by Kautza to be more than $1 million, once the landfill is closed. Kautza said the county should have the money now.
“This money for the long-term care, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be here,” he said.
By consensus, the committee agreed to alter the MOU to indicate the long-term care fund will be transferred t0 the county upon signing the MOU, and the city will transfer the funds requested by the DNR to be in the long-term account each year and those funds will be transferred to the county within 30 days of request.
Kautza also had an issue with the closing date, which the MOU did not have included.
A resolution passed a couple years ago indicated the landfill would close Dec. 21, 2025, but the city wants to continue to accept dust waste from Aarrowcast for a few years until the landfill is full.
Jim Davel, administrative coordinator, said the city is still accepting about 12 yards a day from the company.
“If we stuck to the 31 December closing date, which was on the resolution, the landfill would not be full,” he said. “So, there would be additional costs associated with reengineering and closing of the landfill.
“The city believes that they can make money with working with Aarrowcast and … with a later closing date, probably closer to 2028.”
“Things change,” Supervisor Randy Young said, speaking to Kautza. “They have an opportunity to make more money, so why do you want to stick to a date where that doesn’t happen?”
Supervisor Randy Mallmann said a closing date should be in the MOU, while understanding the issue can be revisited if circumstances change.
“We’re not signing a contract here,” he said.
A third issue raised by Kautza revolved around the transfer station and the assets owned by the city and county, and whether the county should sell or give its assets to the city.
Young’s frustration began to show.
“You’ve been toting that you want to get out of the landfill business, so here’s an opportunity to do it,” he said to Kautza. “But, to me, you kind of keep putting up roadblocks. Do you want to get out of it or not?
“To be honest, Tom, when I was on the Solid Waste Management Board, we didn’t seem to have a lot of issues. We didn’t have them like this.”
Further committee consensus included MOU amendments that a projected date of the landfill closure should also be noted in the agreement, and a list of assets should be provided to the committee for review.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
