By KEVIN NEVERS

The Town of Chesterton is going out to bid for the next three-year refuse and recycling contract.

At its meeting Monday night, the Town Council voted 4-0 to authorize Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg to advertise for bids and schedule a bid opening at its Oct. 13 meeting.

Under the base bid specifications prepared by Schnadenberg and Town Attorney Chuck Lukmann, the refuse and recycling service would remain the same: residents would provide their own trash cans—with an option to rent a 95-gallon roll container from the winning bidder—while the town would provide a recycling bin.

But the specs also call for two alternate bids:

•Each household would receive a 95-gallon roll container for trash and a second 95-gallon roll container for recycling, and recycling collection would be cut to twice a month with the idea of saving the winning bidder fuel expense and encouraging that bidder to pass the savings on to the town. Under this alternate bid, the cost of the roll containers would be included in the contract price.

•Or else each household would provide its own trash cans but would receive a single 95-gallon roll container for recycling, and again recycling collection would be cut to twice a month.

Lukmann noted that he has included in the bid specs a biannual diesel fuel adjustment. That, after the current contractor, Able Disposal, tried unsuccessfully earlier this year to persuade the town to begin paying a fuel surcharge.

In this last year of the existing three-year contract—which expires on Dec. 31—the town is paying $10.36 per household per month. Over the life of the contract the town is averaging $10.05 per household per month.

Able won the contract in 2005 despite the fact that the other bidder, Regional Industries LLC (RI) of Valparaiso, submitted a lower bid. It did so after RI expressed doubts, in a letter to Schnadenberg dated after the bid opening, whether it would be able to obtain the equipment necessary to fulfill the terms of the contract.

Animal Control Contract

In other business, members voted 4-0 to renew the town’s annual contract with Porter County Animal Control, at a cost of $6,076. Members did so grudgingly, in the belief that Chesterton property owners are already paying for animal control services when they pay their county rate.

“We feel we’re double-paying,” Clerk-Treasurer Gayle Polakowski explained to Member Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, when the latter asked to be educated on the issue.

“But we don’t have the facilities or the manpower to collect animals ourselves,” added President Jim Ton, R-1st.

Polakowski did note that the $6,076 figure has not changed in something like 10 years.

Fire Station Improvements

Members also voted 5-0 to authorized the Chesterton Fire Department to spend up to $10,000 in CEDIT funds—a portion of a $20,000 earmark approved earlier this year—on various improvements to the station: the purchase of new mattresses and recliners for the firefighters, the installation of carpet in the offices, and the acquisition of some hand tools, among other things.

Annual Auction

Members voted 4-0 as well to declare surplus a variety of items to be placed on the block at the annual auction on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Street Department at 609 Grant Ave.: viewing at 6:30 p.m., auction at 7 p.m.

Declared surplus:

•A liberal selection of obsolete typewriter ribbon cartridges from the town hall.

•Office chairs, a computer monitor, and a tailgate salt spreader from the Street Department.

•And a GMC truck and old police squad from the Parks and Recreation Department.

Posted 9/9/2008