(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors Tuesday voted to enter into a new contract with H & H Recycling of Spirit Lake through the end of the year at a total cost of 12-thousand dollars.
Mike Hawn of H & H requested a three-year contract, but the supervisors opted to go with the shorter term as the county continues to negotiate with cities on the possibility of sharing recycling drop-off sites. Statistics show recycling in the unincorporated areas has declined recently, while it’s been increasing elsewhere. Hawn told the supervisors he’ll distribute fliers to residents in the unincorporated areas and is offering to distribute recycling containers to those rural residents who need them.
The supervisors also Tuesday approved a proposal to clean carpet and strip and wax some floors in the courthouse at a cost of 1,886-dollars. It was the concensus of the board it would be worth the cost since operations will still be in the existing courthouse for another three years even if a bond issue for a new building passes.
Proposed improvements for county road M-56 on the east side of Big Spirit Lake were also discussed. The county is trying to decide whether to simply re-surface the road or completely rehabilitate it. County Engineer Dan Eckert says re-surfacing would be covered by 600-thousand dollars in federal funding. A rehab wouldn’t be eligible for that. The cost of a rehab would also be much higher…in the neighborhood of 2.6 million dollars. Eckert says curves would have to be addressed to make them comply with federal safety standards. A rehab would also include a bike trail along one side of the road. Eckert says the real issue with a rehab is how the county would pay for it, since its farm-to-market account will be nearly drained by 2005…when the project would be carried out. The committee will meet with representatives of the Dickinson County Trails Association for their input. Eckert was also directed to request the Department of Transportation do another traffic study on the road. A previous study showed a decrease in traffic volume in that area in recent years.
Supervisors also approved the purchase of an off-lease road grader from Caterpillar, with the price to be negotiated between 124,725 and 128,225-dollars, including trade.
