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LaPorte County board endorses operational fixes after compost-site incident, approves 7‑year loan restructure
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Summary
After a root-cause review of a compost-site incident, the LaPorte County Solid Waste District board endorsed immediate operational fixes—stricter material controls, staffing partnerships, temperature monitoring—and approved a 7‑year loan restructure to add $365,000 for site needs.
A root-cause review presented at the LaPorte County Solid Waste District meeting on April 22 identified five factors behind a recent compost-site incident and recommended near-term operational changes to reduce risk and avoid immediate tax increases.
"We identified 5 areas of concern, which was the funding, location, added value of materials, variance, and product improvement," the committee member who presented the review said, describing recommendations to maximize existing resources, pursue grants, and consider shared staffing arrangements with municipalities or supervised community labor programs.
The recommendations call for clearer, consistently enforced rules about unacceptable incoming materials and for municipal loads to be managed the same as public drops. The committee member also recommended routine temperature monitoring of compost piles, establishing clear job descriptions to ensure accountability, reconfiguring property layout to manage front unloads, and strengthening community education about acceptable materials.
Board members praised the facilitator who led the exercise, recorded in the meeting as Robert Girdles, and supported trying the recommended operational changes before pursuing tax increases. "I applaud him for coming out here and giving his time and leading the group and the exercise," a committee member said.
To address immediate financing needs tied to site operations, staff presented two amortization options through Horizon and recommended a seven-year restructure to align with current payments and add $365,000 for the compost site. The board moved, seconded and approved the 7‑year option.
Staff also updated the board on a contractor schedule: the contractor named in the record as Homer aims to start work the week of May 11 and estimated approximately 30 days to complete the bid work, weather permitting.
Separately, staff described persistent standing water near a cell‑tower site, attributing the problem to silt and ash that may have sealed the ground surface. The board voted to ask the highway department to scrape and break up the topsoil to restore drainage after cleanup.
Looking ahead, members discussed outreach options to remove excess mulch and to reuse compost products for parks or community projects. The board agreed to invite Lomer Ag Products to speak at the next meeting about potential removal schedules and costs.
The board closed the discussion by endorsing the immediate operational steps from the root-cause review and directing staff to implement the approved loan restructure and follow up on contractor and drainage actions.
