Adams County Solid Waste Committee reviews landfill tarp option, equipment repairs, DNR visit and unaudited finances

Ruben, a solid waste staff member, told the Adams County Solid Waste Committee on Jan. 14 that staff are exploring a landfill tarp option to conserve airspace and reduce use of sand cover, and that the shredder remains a possible alternative but may not suit the facility’s size.

Ruben said: "he's pretty confident that it would be, beneficial for us to explore that option to kinda help with, airspace and not using so much sand or, ADC once we get that approved, the glass to take up that space and then just cover it up and then he thinks that would be a lot better for us to utilize that than a shredder." He added that weekly operations meetings are being held to improve communication and team organization.

Staff reported two repair estimates for a Case loader that is out of service due to deferred maintenance: Alliant Power quoted $5,849 to replace fuel injectors and the injection pump; Miller Brad quoted $10,629 for the same work. Ruben said the committee plans to pursue the lower estimate to save money because the loader is slowing operations.

On regulatory and permitting matters, Ruben said County staff have consulted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and were told to consult "chapter 500 to 599," and that a DNR representative named Colin visited the landfill on Dec. 17 and "was very pleased" with progress, daily cover and site conditions. Ruben said the glass ADC approval is pending and the DNR has not given a time frame; he quoted the DNR contact as saying the department is short‑staffed and giving higher priority to other projects.

Operations details included that brush and pallets have been chipped into two piles for customers; compost remains unavailable because it is contaminated with glass; staff sold only one compost bin to date; refrigerant collection has been largely emptied from several 30‑yard containers down to about one remaining; trained staff are stripping tires and preparing rims for shipment.

Kyle, a county staff member presenting the financial report, called the financials unaudited and summarized several line items: "This first page is just a clean sweep... So it's still roughly $3,000 to the good." He said solid waste operations on subsequent pages are "about $650,000 to the good," landfill operations "roughly $1,700,000 to the good," recycling operations "about $360,000 to the good," and that transfers and depreciation entries total roughly $2,300,000. He summarized: "So in total and this is the unaudited, financials. It's roughly $350,000 to the good." Kyle also reported that the operating fund cash balance at the end of 2024 was "roughly negative $280,000" while the capital fund had a cash balance of about $1,400,000. He added that staff are waiting on engineer estimates of landfill capacity to calculate long‑term care and closure liabilities, which could increase required set‑asides.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the loader repair, the timeline for the glass approval, and whether strong spray (Strongs Ferry/Strongsville) garbage came from the transfer site or from residents; staff said it was from both sources. No formal votes were recorded for equipment repairs or operational directions in the transcript; the meeting record shows the committee will proceed with the lower repair estimate and continue coordination with engineers and other landfills for certification guidance.

The committee set its next meeting for Feb. 11 at 4 p.m.