Recycling Center talks working with businesses
Because the Recycling Center recoups some of its money through selling materials to other companies, members of the Solid Waste Management District board, which oversees the center, questioned if they should be doing more to partner with local businesses.
Recycling Center Superintendent Kevin Poling was uncertain, as some businesses use the center, and some have designated pick-ups with the same companies the center works with. “I don’t know where’d we get more cardboard,” he added.
Board member Jeff Stringer also questioned if the center had the manpower to take on more commercial recyclables. “I think it depends on the mission of the recycling is — is it to be a profit center or is it to be a service?” Stringer questioned.
“Well, I’m not even necessarily suggesting that we have to be a profit center, right? But it’d be nice if it was. But just as from a general mission standpoint, is there cardboard in the county going to the landfill that could otherwise be rerouted to us?” asked board member Scott Mentzer.
Also during the meeting, the board approved a $100,000 investment into a six-month CD with 1st Source in Bluffton at a rate of 5.25%.
The board later approved a 2025 budget proposal, with the County Council’s budget hearings slated for August. There were no significant changes outside the rural town clean-up budget moving from the Area Plan Commission to the Recycling Center.
HVAC issues at the jail evaluated
Sheriff Scott Holliday told the County Commissioners Monday that representatives from Ameresco had visited the jail to evaluate HVAC in the summer heat. The company had previously advised that they couldn’t regulate the system until they could do so in warmer weather.
Holliday reported there were 78 inmates housed in the Wells County Jail as of Monday, 39 of which were pre-trial holds from the Circuit Court, 20 for the Superior Court, 18 from the Department of Correction and one Level 6 felon. .
— Compiled by Holly Gaskill
