New landfill hauling contract means big savings for county

Thanks to a more competitive bidding process, Carlton County stands to save a lot of money on the cost of hauling garbage from the county transfer station to the landfill.

Zoning and Environmental Services administrator Heather Cunningham told Carlton County commissioners during their March 12 meeting that hauling costs to the Superior, Wis. landfill have been bid openly for several years. The transfer station produces about 16,000 tons annually, and those costs went up in 2017 when SKB Environmental was the only bidder.

However, last year, the county signed an agreement with WLSSD (Western Lake Superior Sanitary District) to bundle the costs of hauling solid waste to the Superior landfill, Cunningham explained, adding that when bids went out, SKB did not submit a new bid. Out of three new proposals, Mahkahta Trucking had the successful, qualified bid.

“The high tonnage that the Duluth facility hauls in annually made the cost of our trucking needs more cost-effective,” Cunningham said. “This year we save $92,000 and next budget year we save $184,000. Hopefully Mahkahta Trucking gives us as good a service as SKB has done.”

She ran through some of the numbers for the board members.

Since 2017 SKB Environmental has contracted the work for $12 per ton. Mahkahta Trucking came in at $6.96 per ton and will take over the hauling on July 1.

According to the SKB Environmental contract, the annual cost of the hauling was $504,932.39. It is projected that Mahkahta Trucking hauling will cost $320,950 annually.

Cunningham also presented her annual Zoning and Environmental Services report.

Carlton County operates zoning in all areas of the county except for the local city jurisdictions and Thomson Township. The county does have zoning authority over all shoreland and wetland areas within the county.

Here are some of the highlights:

•Permits for new homes from 2017 to 2018 dropped from 48 to 45, housing additions 55 down to 45, but cabins rose from 20 to 36.

•A total of 902 pounds of unwanted medication was collected in 2018. To date this year, 4,511 pounds have been collected.

•Three lakes have had Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive species: Chub Lake, Bear Lake and Little Hanging Horn Lake. Chemical treatment cost $16,672 in Chub and Bear Lakes each year. A small amount of milfoil had been found in Little Hanging Horn Lake in 2017 and was manually removed. No milfoil was found there in 2018.

•Plans are being implemented to use credit cards for permit fees and they are progressing in the auditor’s office. Online permitting is targeted for implementation in 2022.

•Creation of a new ordinance to regulate vacation rentals by owners is being considered or may be added to Zoning Ordinance #27. The goal is to protect the character of the surrounding neighborhood as well as environmental protection.

In other county news, Land Commissioner Greg Bernu had two tax-forfeited parcels — one in Wrenshall Township and the other in the city of Barnum — reappraised and put out for sealed bids. There were several bidders and both parcels were sold, one 165 percent over appraisal and the other 104 percent over appraisal, respectively. The two parcels brought in $193,307.

Due to the success of this reappraisal process and resulting sale, the county board ordered several tax-forfeited parcels in Barnum and Mahtowa Townships be reappraised and offered for sale to the public by sealed bid. For more details, contact Bernu at 218-384-9179.