City proposes buying out county share of SWA

    Chase County Commissioners Chuck Vette and Dennis Kunnemann met with Imperial City Councilman Doug Gaswick at the commissioners’ July 28 meeting to discuss the future of the Southwest Nebraska Solid Waste Agency.
    Gaswick presented background information and said the city of Imperial would like to dissolve SWA.
     The city proposes buying out the county so it could continue to run the transfer station and recycling center.
    According to city figures, the county would receive 25% of the net assets, presented as $859,436, paying the county $250,000 over the course of three years with 2% interest.
    Historical figures provided by the city showed the SWA board dividing the entity as 74.6% to the city and 25.4% to the county of a 15-year span.
    The city determined the county had $215,000 in net assets and $35,000 worth of equipment used in the operation of SWA.
    The proposal said that the city has the most experience with day-to-day operations and is in the best position to solely run SWA operations.
    “The city will continue the transfer station, the C&D site, the recycling center and the tree/concrete/compost piles in the best interest of the residents of the city of Imperial and Chase County,” the agreement said.
    It went on to say, “The city will provide the same services, same access and charge the same rates to residents of the county as it does the city residents as long as the operations exist.”
    Included in the city’s proposed process for dissolution was the “net $68,157.28 payable to the city for all bills paid for the SWA out of city funds during the past several months while there has not been a current SWA board to authorize the banking transactions for the SWA.”
    Over the months, the commissioners have expressed concern about how the SWA bills were being paid without a SWA board to approve and write checks.
    The commissioners said they felt it would be best for the SWA board to be reestablished and resume control over the entity.
    The county had approved a joint SWA board member and was waiting for the city to approve the joint appointment and name its own board member.
    Commissioner Jacci Brown was absent from the meeting, and Vette and Kunnemann wanted her to have a chance to look over the proposal.
    After the meeting, Vette said he had concerns about the cost of the county not being a SWA member.
    One instance he mentioned was with all the houses being reshingled, he said that the county could be expected to dig its own construction and demolition (C & D) site if the current C & D site fills faster than expected.
    The agreement presented by the city said the city would pay for any engineering and professional fees required for the development and construction of future pits for the C & D site and tree pile, while also saying the county would dig and cover, or pay to have dug and covered, the pits for future C & D sites and tree piles for the city. That would give the county continued use of the C & D site free of charge and rights to the dirt.
    In other business, the board accepted the resignation of Chad Oxford from the Chase County Fair Board. Oxford, who has served as the board president, said he had been considering the move for some time.
    The commissioners went on to appoint Tracy Space to the fair board. Space had previously been an associate member.
    John Burke’s resignation from the Chase County Community Hospital Board of Trustees was also accepted. Burke will leave the board Nov. 1.
    The next meeting of the commissioners will be Aug. 11 at 8 a.m. in the Chase County Courthouse.