109 Board agrees to settle with former employee By SANDRA STONE The Meade County Solid Waste board of directors (109 Board) held their regular monthly meeting Nov. 10. Shannon Loose joined the board to fill a vacant position. The board approved the financial reports and collection reports for October. Loose asked if there was a chance of attaching garbage collection to tax bills in an effort to save on collection efforts. Robert Heleringer, attorney for the board, advised MCSW&R is not a taxing district, and there are issues of legality with regard to attaching to tax bills. In his report, Heleringer advised that solid waste coordinator Wanda Terrell, solid waste employee Gayle Parr and Heleringer himself had been dismissed from a suit filed by Jerry Leonard which named those three individually as well as the 109 Board. The case against the board for unspecified damages is still pending. He stated he would have further information during the scheduled executive session. In her report, Terrell advised the Division of Waste Management is still sending items to former chairman Bill Hofmann. They will be advised to send all further information to current chairman Bim Wardrip. Large item pickup is completed for the year. Items may be dropped off at the solid waste center on Ready Mix Road. Litter abatement is nearly complete for this year. Terrell advised Parr has done a good job of administering funds for this program. Terrell stated she had received positive feedback with regard to the organization of this effort. The board entered executive session to discuss pending litigation and personnel issues. Upon returning to open session an hour later, Mark Hubbard moved to authorize Heleringer to negotiate a settlement with a former employee. The motion carried with Lamar Smith opposed. Terrell reported MCSW&R has been reimbursed $10,800 for the Commonwealth Cleanup earlier this year during which hundreds of old tires were collected and disposed of. The board approved the revised budget which reflects the increase in garbage collection rates as well as the increase in operating expenses, particularly fuel and insurance costs. On a motion by Wardrip, seconded by Heber Burchett, the board was unanimous in its approval to submit the revised budget to Meade County Fiscal Court. During the public session, a driver for MCSW&R had several comments to make. He expressed interest in purchasing a piece of equipment that hasn’t been used in several years. This would fall under the policy for surplus property disposal and would have to be opened up to public bid and advertised as such as the equipment was purchased with public funds. Employees would be eligible to bid on the items for sale. A safety issue regarding the floor was also brought up, and the driver was assured the issue was being addressed. Additionally, Magistrate Herbie Chism stated he had seen a driver who wasn’t wearing his safety vest and brought this to the board’s attention.
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