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Estimated cost for the county to mow the Lakeland Landfill once a month is $975 to $5,500 per mowing.
The landfill at CR 450W, north of CR 700S, Claypool, is 20-25 acres.
Today, Kosciusko County Highway Engineer and Superintendent Rob Ladson said that as part of the county's agreement on the landfill, the county is responsible for mowing the landfill and needs to mow it once a month. Arcadis, the engineers for the landfill, require special mowing around vents, fencing and the monitoring wells around the landfill. Insurance also is high for anyone who mows it.
Ladson got five quotes for the mowing and the estimates came back from $975 to $5,500.
"It was a surprise to me as well," Ladson said of the costs. "Some people thought that was kind of low." He said he didn't have anything to base an estimate on, but he guessed the costs should have been around $300.
"In essence, you've got a small contractor coming in and doing what we originally envisioned a retiree doing," Ladson said. He said Arcadis is requiring a lot of "hand work" at the site.
The commissioners decided to let county administrator Ron Robinson look into whether or not the county's insurance could cover hiring someone to mow the landfill.
According to a previous Times-Union story, beginning in 1974, general refuse and hazardous wastes, including cyanide and sludge containing paint, hydroxides of aluminum and heavy metals, were disposed of at the site. In 1978, the Kosciusko County Circuit Court ordered the landfill closed. The landfill was originally added to the Environmental Protection Agency's superfund list in 1989 after the EPA detected high amounts of methane concentrations leaking from the ground beneath several mobile homes.
In another matter, Ladson told the commissioners that several years ago, Jesse and Shirley Beer dedicated an extra 10 feet of right of way to the county. The county ended up not needing the extra feet, so the Beers recently requested the county return that to them. Ladson said he agreed, it was unnecessary, and he had an ordinance prepared for the commissioners to sign, which they approved.
The property is at CR 100E, south of CR 1300N, Milford.
The Kosciusko County Commissioners are Brad Jackson, Avis Gunter and Ron Truex. They meet at 9 a.m. every other Tuesday in the county courthouse.
