EATON — Preble County Engineer Kyle Cross gave his monthly update on the landfill, recycling and sewer districts to the Preble County Board of Commissioners during their regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 16.

Recycling

Sidewalk signs are now up by recycling bins in Camden and Lakengren.

“At Lakengren, it does appear that it may be a combination between that and the additional dumpsters, things seem to be going a whole lot smoother out there by increasing the number of dumpsters that they have available,” Cross said.

For those who have already started on Christmas decorations, Cross added that the Christmas lights recycling program is underway.

“There’s a bin in the lobby [at the Preble County Courthouse] as well as one at the landfill,” he said. “Hopefully that’s going to give residents another option on what they can do with Christmas lights that don’t work.”

Sewer Districts

Cross reported no issues with Sewer District 2, and an EQ pump was recently installed on Sewer District 3 as the county awaits the rebuild for the backup lift station pump.

Regarding Sewer District 3, Cross had previously stated during an Aug. 12 meeting with the commissioners that roughly 30 percent of revenue taken in to the district comes from the now-closed West Elkton Intermediate School.

Cross said restructuring or extending a loan they have is not very promising, so they are looking into finding documentation that can hold the school accountable as the primary benefactor of Sewer District 3.

“We are having a hard time piecing together any type of information,” he said. “The way it started out was that the village was going to take this project on their own, and at some point, that was not realistic because of the scope of it. The county stepped in, took over the whole process.”

He added that even if they do find documentation, it may not be easily transferable to the current situation, so it is likely that rate adjustments will need to be made to break even.

“The increase in rates to keep and maintain the level to where we’re going to pay off the loans that we still have outstanding, and to be able to maintain the current operating expenses for the plant, is going to be just shy of $17 per billing per month,” Cross said.

Beyond that, the county would generate roughly $5,000 per year for every additional dollar the rate is increased.

Landfill

Current tonnage is 3,400 tons year-to-date ahead of where it was on Oct. 31, 2019. Leachate is down approximately 437,000 gallons year-to-date, and out of county waste is accounting for about 3.2 percent of the total tonnage for the landfill.

In other business

• The board authorized payment to the following: sheriff ($1,231.97); Job and Family Services ($22,054.03; $1,945.54); commission ($2,175.60); municipal court ($2,543.36); and Sewer District 6 ($3,200).
• The board approved a resolution for supplemental appropriation of $6,210 to the 9-1-1 fund.
• The board authorized an expenditure of $7,950 for the purchase of parts and repairs for a forklift.

The Preble County Board of Commissioners meet every Monday and Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Preble County Courthouse. These meetings are open to the public.