OSWEGO — Labette County commissioners are considering future solid waste handling options for the county, including operating a landfill.
Commissioners briefly mentioned this possibility on Monday and agreed to meet with a Kansas Department of Health and Environment representative who oversees such ventures.
Sanitation officer Charlie Morse said the KDHE has permitted a couple of landfills in recent years. Commissioners mentioned some hurdles, including approval of neighboring property owners, cost, studies, monitoring, licensure and insurance. Commissioners agreed that when the KDHE representative could speak to them the county’s solid waste committee should attend as well.
Morse said KDHE’s representative told him opening a landfill is a 24 to 36 month process.
The landfill issue was mentioned during a brief discussion about a requested rate change at the Labette County Transfer Station south of Parsons. GFL Environmental requested the adjustment based on continued increasing costs.
Commissioners were concerned about raising the rate on haulers who bring trash to the station from other counties because of the headache of determining its source. The com-
See COUNTY, Page 8.
mission did seem supportive of having the county solid waste committee adjust the rate charged for roll off containers brought to the transfer station.
In other business on Monday, commissioners: — Heard a request by Jacob McCallie for county funding to help with equipment purchases for the Coffeyville Amateur Radio Club, which offers educational events in Labette County on ham radio operations and their value. Commissioners said they would discuss the request. Barrett spoke to the value of amateur radio operations. “It’s just kind of remarkable how capable they really are,” he said.
— Approved a request for a Neighborhood Revitalization Program application for Brad Jay, who wants to build a garage with a value of $39,871. The NRP offers a refund on taxes paid for improvements for 10 years.
— Defeated a resolution request to ban the installation of certain solar panels and arrays from the Xinjiang region of China because of concerns that forced labor was involved in the manufacturing process. Commissioner Tom Barrett brought up the issue before and it was tabled. He asked to revisit the matter on Monday and the resolution request was defeated 2-1.
— Agreed to revoke the credit cards used by County Attorney Mandy Johnson.
— Agreed to reappoint Josh Hucke to the county’s solid waste board. He was inadvertently removed from the board.
