Solid Waste board asks Grant County fiscal court for $40,000 to repair tire shredder

Brian Miles, executive director of the Solid Waste Management District (District 109), told the Grant County Fiscal Court on Aug. 5 that the county-owned tire shredder requires a rebuild of its cutting deck and requested a one-time county allocation of $40,000 to make the repair.

The shredder, Miles said, was acquired by county officials in 2005 at no purchase cost and has provided a disposal service to residents and local retailers for years. Miles presented county accounting that he said shows net, six‑year excess revenue of $40,315 and argued the $40,000 repair would be paid back over time by avoiding annual commercial disposal costs.

Why it matters: Grant County’s shredder processes an estimated 8,000 resident tires a year and about 1,200 tires a year from local retailers, Miles said. Without the machine, the county would need to ship whole tires to commercial processors at an estimated $4,000 per trailer or otherwise face increased roadside dumping, mosquito‑breeding hazards and possible state enforcement for stockpiling tires.

Details from the presentation: Miles and other Solid Waste board members said a local machinist can replace worn spacers and resurface the shredder’s knives for approximately $40,038.05, which they described as substantially less than the $110,000 parts-only quote from the manufacturer, ShredTech. Miles said the current condition is degrading efficiency and raising the risk of catastrophic failure. He said the shredder is being operated “very carefully” and occasionally “kicks out,” and that if it were run at full capacity the safety and equipment risks would be higher.

Costs and benefits cited by District 109: - Repair request: $40,000 (parts and local machinist labor quoted at $40,038.05). - Manufacturer parts-only replacement: about $110,000 (ShredTech). - Estimated annual cost to ship whole tires commercially: about $32,000 (roughly eight trailers at $4,000 each). - District net revenue over six years (after expenses): $40,315, per the spreadsheet District staff provided to the court.

Court response and next steps: No formal appropriation was approved at the meeting. Judge Executive Dils said the court would explore funding avenues, including pursuing grants and contacting state legislators and the Department for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. Magistrates and staff discussed possible interim options such as raising fees for commercial customers or testing the costs of paying for commercial disposal temporarily, but no motion to allocate county funds was made.

What was not decided: The court did not vote to transfer money, nor did it set a timeline to repair or to decommission the shredder. Miles and Solid Waste board members urged prompt action, saying the shredder could be kept operating for months if baby‑handled but might require shutdown within a short period if conditions worsen.

Attributions: Direct quotations and operational details in this article are attributed to speakers who appeared before the Fiscal Court: Brian Miles (District 109 executive director), David Smith (District 109 chairman), Fred Sheffler (District 109 board member), and Judge Executive Dils. The court’s staff and the district provided a spreadsheet and written materials to support the figures summarized above.

Ending: District leaders asked the court to consider the $40,000 request as part of county budgeting and to pursue grant or legislative support. Judge Executive Dils said he would contact state officials and the county’s senator to seek funding options and report back to the court at a future meeting.