The Chesterton Town
Council has endorsed a proposed increase of the annual recycling fee paid by
all Porter County residents.
At its meeting
Monday night, members voted 5-0 to endorse raising the current $15 fee to
$20, after Therese Davis, executive director of the Recycling and Waste
Reduction District of Porter County (RWRD), pitched the hike as a way of
paying for a tub grinder which all communities in the county could use, on a
rotating basis, to dispose of brush.
The Porter County
Council is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. today to consider the $5 increase.
In addition to
funding a new tub grinder--as well as a full-time operator for it--the fee
hike would enable the RWRD to double the number of household hazardous waste
collections days held every year, from three to six. And the fee would allow
the RWRD to upgrade the facilities as its local recycling centers, Davis
said.
For Street
Commissioner John Schnadenberg, having regular access to a tub grinder would
mean saving thousands of dollars currently spent on hiring contractors to
grind brush. This year alone the Street Department has already paid $24,000
to use some other guy’s equipment, Schnadenberg said. That savings would
likely make it possible for the Street Department to dedicate at least a
portion of the $1 per month brush fee paid by Chesterton households to other
uses.
And a $5 per year
increase? That’s only 42 cents per month, Schnadenberg added.
Member Jim Ton,
R-1st, did express a concern that the town would have regular access to the
grinder. “If it sits in Portage all year, it doesn’t do us any good,” he
suggested.
Davis agreed and
said that some sort of regular rotation would be developed, with exceptions
in the case of post-weather event emergencies.
A couple of uses
per year would probably be enough, Schnadenberg for his part indicated.
With Gratitude
Police Chief Dave
Cincoski took a moment on Monday to express his gratitude to everyone who
attended Friday’s benefit for Reserve Officer Greg Duda, held at the Sand
Creek Country Club.
Duda is being
treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The family was
just blown away by the support,” Cincoski said.