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Board signs off on procurement, farm and program items for Resource Recovery Center and public works
Summary
The board authorized an RFQ for engineering services, updated commodity-futures paperwork with ADM/Zaner, extended permission for the Muskegon County Trail Riders Association, authorized multiple RFP solicitations for Resource Recovery Center maintenance, and approved bids solicitation for alfalfa fields.
At its March 12 meeting, the Muskegon County Board approved several operational and administrative items affecting the Resource Recovery Center (RRC) and county public-works operations.
The board authorized procurement to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) for professional engineering services related to solid-waste operations; public works staff said the RFQ is a routine action done every three years to maintain a list of qualified consultants and speed future projects. The motion carried by voice vote.
Dave Johnson, representing the Resource Recovery Center, described the county’s commodity-futures arrangement: Zaner acts as the broker and ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) is the financial institution that executes futures positions on the Chicago Board of Trade. Johnson and RC farm manager Mike Clover explained the hedging program is used to set a price floor for corn and soybeans the county produces; commissioners asked staff to provide a cost breakdown of Zaner’s fees.
The board also approved a five-year extension allowing the Muskegon County Trail Riders Association to continue using specified county land, under existing conditions that require the club to provide liability insurance naming the county as additionally insured. Staff clarified the county does not lease the land; it grants permission subject to insurance and operational rules.
The board authorized RFPs for five categories of maintenance and repair services for the Resource Recovery Center with the goal of establishing three-year agreements (collection system and treatment plant repair; pump and motor repair; electrical repair; high-voltage electrical repair; pumping and hauling services). Staff said multiple vendors may be selected per category to ensure redundancy.
Finally, the board authorized solicitation of bids for alfalfa harvest on county fields in a four-year rotation; farm manager Mike Clover said the county plants, waters and fertilizes the crop and contracts local dairies to harvest. He said the county currently has roughly 500 acres in rotation and hopes to rebalance acreage over time to about one-third alfalfa, one-third corn and one-third soybeans. The motions carried.
