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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP August 2, 1988 ~ .." ,~ " CITY of ANDOVER , '~ " .,~. " ,-'. ~. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING 2 August 1988 MINUTES A Special Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Jerry Windschitl on August 2, 1988, at 6:35 pm, at the Andover City Hall, 1685 NW Crosstown Boulevard, Andover, MN. Councilmen Present: Knight, Elling Councilmen Absent: Orttel, Apel Also Present: Ed Walsh and Joe Pavelich of Waste Management Board; Robert Palmer, Andover Fire Chief; and James E. Schrantz, Administrator TONSON, INC. Mayor Windschitl announced that the purpose of this meeting was to talk about where the matter of Tonson, Inc. is at the present time and where we would like to see it headed. This whole situation has been a sore subject for so long. The County has almost begun an action many times; the City has tried to pull the plug on this. The PCA (Pollution Control Agency) investigation on the site has been a sore problem. The staff caught them doing some things that were not proper. walsh, Andy Ronchak and Don Lindstrom, all of Waste Management Board, when they visited the site, also saw some problems. Mayor Windschi tl said it is time to get the tires out of here. We can't allow any more tires to come into the site; we don't have a functioning site. The Special Use Permit (SUP) procedure will be addressed later this evening., I think we are down to the point of trying to figure out how to get the site cleared. It is purported that there are 250,000 tires on the site. A lot of them he couldn't shred if he wanted to. Fire Chief Bob Palmer reported that on the Monday after the fire there were two guys that showed up and the foreman was going through the yard showing them the big tires. Apparently there was some discussion about LaPanta (Mil ton) paying them to haul them out. Evidently he has to pay to get them out also. Councilman Elling said the time has come to just get rid of the tires, straightening out the land and getting rid of the pollution. It has to come to an end. Staff has been very lenient with the guy, they have given him (LaPanta) the benefit of the doubt, and we have gone the extra mile many times. Now it is time to get rid of it. - - ~ Page Two Special City Council Meeting 2 August 1988 The Fire Department had problems with the fire. If it had gone further we would have had real problems. Joseph Pave1ich, Chairman of the Waste Management Board, noted that there are lots of problems with the larger piles throughout the State. Councilmen Elling questioned who would bid on purchasing a piece of property that has an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) investigation on it? It will go belly-up and we will end up with the waste disposal site. d'Arcy Bosell, zoning Administrator, gave the Council a brief summary of what she, Don Lindstrom and Andy Ronchak observed in regard to the internal movement of tires within the site, which is a violation of the Stipulation Agreement in place between Tonson, Inc. and the Waste Management Board. Councilman Elling spoke with the County Attorney and they informed him that Tonson, Inc. does not have a Solid Waste Disposal License. Ed walsh asked if the County had revoked the license or permit. Councilman Elling reported that supposedly there was no insurance and the license is done. They will be sending him a letter this week stating that he has no license, that he cannot take in any more tires and they are to close down. The City is going to take action on the Special Use Permit. Fire Chief Palmer reported that the State Fire Marshal was told by Cecil Heidelberger that there was insurance on the stuff. Ed Walsh asked again if Cecil Heidelberger had spoken to the Fire Marshal? Fire Chief Palmer said Cecil Heidelberger called him to tell him that the guy (Lapanta) did have insurance. Jamie Novak called the agent and learned that the insurance was cancelled about a year ago but that doesn't mean he doesn't have insurance. The small shredder was insured for $400,000, the pile of tires was insured for $250,000 and the large shredder was insured for $600,000. Councilman Elling noted that he (Lapanta) has come to the Waste Management Board for $500,000 in assistance. Ed Walsh noted that he has asked for capitalized money for the shredding operation. Joseph pavelich noted that the discussion at the WMB was that to give him another shredder to take care of that pile is not a solution. Page Three Special City Council Meeting 2 August 1988 Councilman Elling said either the State or the County should buy the machine as rolling stock and set it up to grind up the tires. Chairman pavelich noted that the State does not have a market for the product and that is another problem. Councilman Elling noted that we can't get this site cleaned up from the ground water pollution because of the tires. The site is abutting property that we could buy but because of the pollution problem, we go round and round. Councilman Knight noted that the corner cutting that goes on is constant and he does not follow the rules. It never ends and you get sick of dealing with it. Councilman Elling felt he (LaPanta) plays one against the other; the City, the county and the Board. He has shown that he cannot be trusted. Ed Walsh asked how long the City Council has been dealing with Milt? Councilman Elling noted that the actual tire clean up is about five or six years in duration. Mayor Windschitl noted that Ray Slayback made as good an attempt at doing something as could be done. Councilman Elling pointed out that we have worked with this guy several times. It was further noted that there have been three fires within the site this year. Fire Chief Palmer reported that one fire was behind Mom's Auto Parts and it appeared that it was set. There was plywood set up to burn. Councilman Elling noted that Cecil Heidelberger had a $100,000 payment to make and could not make it. He also wants LaPanta off the site. Fire Chief Palmer further noted that there are six to eight spots where tires have been burned and they are on top of the pile. These spots are located allover the yard. City Administrator James Schrantz pointed out that you can't take a match and start a tire on fire. Ed Walsh asked what LaPanta could do without the County License? It was noted that the County has taken action to not renew his license and will be advising Milton LaPanta of that this week. Chairman pavelich asked why the County hadn't taken action over the past several years? Why so long? Page Four Special City Council Meeting 2 August 1988 Councilman Elling said that the County was like us (the City) and were trying to support the project but they are at their end now. Many more tires are coming in than are going out. We have too much at stake to let this site get more out of hand. Mayor Windschitl noted that there is a real health issue with the EPA/PCA. They were out two months ago and they will not complete their report until the tires are out of there. Councilman Elling noted that we are trying to get Cecil Heidelberger to pay for the clean-up of that site. Mayor Windschitl noted that the PCA/EPA has very long arms and once the barrels surfaced in the tires, they know who brought the materials out to Cecil's property, and they can come and get the pollutants off the site. Fire Chief Palmer noted that there are some barrels out of the ground right now and some of them are solvents. He asked if the PCA knew they were there? James Schrantz also noted that there were two test wells that were cut off. Chairman Pavelich noted concern about the appearance that it was a free-for-all over there. We (WMB) took the Tire program over and it will not go into the full process until later this month. We picked this up last July. We are trying to work with the fellow. We changed some dates to work with him. There is no other market to take them (the chips) to. He (LaPanta) has taken one million tires off the streets already. The problem is catching up on both issues. You have to patient with US too. James Schrantz noted that on August 21st the WMB will have permitting powers. Will you be giving them a permit then? Ed Walsh noted that the issuance of a permit will come after an application is made. The permit will be reviewed by the Board and the issuance of that permit will also be discussed with the City and the County. The rules go into effect August 21st. LaPanta has not applied for a permit nor has he indicated that he is going to apply for a processing permit. He has applied for a transporter permit for his trucks. Ed asked again the reason for the County not issuing the permit. Was it because there was no insurance? d'Arcy Bosel1 noted that there were need of a Tax Clearance Certificate also. Ed Walsh asked if the City of Andover is going to discuss and possibly act on revocation of the Special Use Permit? If one or the other or both of those actions occur at the City or County level, as I understand it, Milton LaPanta is out of business and you have the power now as does the County to shut that facility page Five Special city Council Meeting 2 August 1988 down. If you have a consensus at the Council you have that option available to you. In the event that the County revokes their License and the City revokes the Special Use Permit, I think at that particular point in time the Waste Management Board would probably be talking to Anoka County to ask for an abatement action to get that site cleaned up. James Schrantz had spoken with Bob Hutchison who said that they (Tonson) could take tires for thirty days during a breakdown. Is this considered a breakdown or not? Councilman Elling noted that Bob Hutchison has been a problem in the past and there may be ways around that. Ed Walsh asked if that provision was in the Solid Waste License (the thirty days)? Councilman Elling said he wants to see everybody get tough with this guy and clean up this site. Ed Walsh noted that if that is the City's desire and the City Council, you have to act accordingly on the Permit, as does the County. Councilman Knight asked what would happen if the City does and the County does not? Ed Walsh suggested that question be asked of the City Attorney. Councilman Elling noted that our Special Use Permit has the same conditions as the County Solid Waste License. Ed Walsh said the City has to meet with the City Attorney and if he agrees with your assessment of the situation, you can shut him down. Mayor Windschitl noted that there is a process including a public hearing before the Planning Commission. Councilman Knight noted that then he gets his thirty days. Councilman Elling felt that if he got notice from Anoka County, he can take in tires for thirty days. Shutting him down is the easy part. I want a commitment as to when those tires are going to be out of there. Chairman pavelich asked if the thirty days was a part of the permitting process. Mayor Windschitl noted that it takes about thirty days for the revocation of the permit process to run. Councilman Knight again noted that he is entitled to a hearing. Chairman Pavelich noted that that may be the quickest way to accomplish this. page Six Special City Council Meeting 2 August 1988 James Schrantz noted on the mortgage foreclosure process, you have six months to reclaim the land. Ann Cohen said she was going to do some review on some tax things. Did she do that yet? Mayor Windschitl asked if there was a liability for the state, the County or the City to allow him to operate without insurance? James Schrantz asked if the State could kick in the Waste Tire Funds to clean up the site? Councilman Elling said the City wants a commitment from the Waste Management Board after the City shuts him (LaFanta) down. Ed Walsh explained the process. The County is going to revoke and the City is going to revoke. Once that happens the Waste Management Board will probably start talking to the County to initiate an abatement action or with the responsible party. That might be Cecil Heidelberger. Those issues will have to be worked out. Milton LaPanta may take a hike and go back to Chicago if you revoke his permit. James Schrantz said he said he would take his stuff to Milwaukee. Ed Walsh continued. Once those actions are taken, the Waste Management Board has to discuss the question. We can start talking to the County about abatement or we can ask for what's called a Request for Abatement with the responsible party. This is where Ann Cohen comes into the picture. That might be Tonson, Waste Recycling, it might be Milton Lapanta, it might be Cecil Heidelberger, and it may be all of the above. You don't know what Cecil Heidelberger is going to do either. James Schrantz asked if any of those things get the tires out of town? Ed Walsh continued. There is going to have to be some determination as to who is responsible before the State can clean up the pile. The tires have been acceptable to the State and there is a process they would have to go through to get a resolution. who do we talk to? Once that is resolved, then a negotiation process would begin. If we deal with Cecil Heidelberger or Milton LaPanta the process might take some time to go through. If we deal directly with the County, we would enter into a contract with the County and it would go through a bidding process to obtain a contract with a trucking firm to transport the product. Councilman Elling stated it sounds like three years - we're talking about the end of the year. What would it take if the City and the County wanted to get those tires out of there? Page Seven Special City Council Meeting 2 August 1988 Ed Walsh pointed out that first you have to gain access to the tires. Councilman Elling said we would like to haul them to Babbitt. Ed Walsh again noted you have to gain access to the site first. It was noted that Cecil Heidelberger wants to get rid of the tires. Chairman pavelich asked why he's been taking in tires all these years? Mayor Windschitl felt that the concern is dealing with the health and safety issue of the site. Councilman Elling noted that a Tax Increment Financing District has been created. There may be some dollars to use to clean up the site and deal with it that way. Ed Walsh pointed out again that the first hurdle is to gain control of the tires. If the County does this, the State can enter into a grant contract to clean up that site. The contract basically is a contract that provides some language where the state can pay up to 85% (out of the Tire Fund). It always rolls back to the tax payer on this stuff. Hopefully the permit rules will preclude this from happening again. We are playing catch up here for the sins of mis- management of tires. We have to get control of the ti res; somebody has to do it. If we go with the County, they are going to have to get a transporter, load the tires up and transport them to a processor. There are three possibilities and we can send them out for bids: Rubber Research in st. Louis County; SBM out of Preston, MN and Godfredson out of Mora. Godfredson may not bid on the tires. He has not been taking new tires into the site and is concentrating on the tires that he has. Councilman Elling talked to the guys over at Riverside. If you get the chip down to 3/8 inch, you can run them through the boilers. Chairman Pave1ich noted that they have talked to the people at NSP and have gotten the Governor involved. Councilman Apel arrived at 7:20 pm. Red Wing and Willmar talked about using the tires as a pre-heat and they would need another burner site. Ed Walsh also noted that they have been talking with NSP for several years. Councilman Ortte1 arrived at 7:22 pm. Page Eight Special city Council Meeting 2 August 1988 Ed Walsh noted that the problem with getting NSP to go this way is that the costs associated with reducing a tire down to a 3/8 inch particle and then selling that to NSP is not economical and because the price that NSP would be willing to pay for that particle is not sufficient to defray the costs to produce it. Councilman Elling noted that LaPanta is not going to solve the problem in the seven county area let alone on the site. Ed Walsh did say that NSP has indicated a willingness to do a test burn on the RDF facilities at Willmar with a combination of RDF and tire chips later this year. Before they get involved in a test burn they want to resolve the matter of the air quality tests using the RDF alone. Once they have passed the air quality tests just using RDF they might be interested in pursuing a co- incineration using the RDF and chips. LaPanta is part of a chip and burn facility. He sells the chips to Nakoosa in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. His other operation will not be a chip and burn operation but a crumb rubber operation like up in Babbitt. He has expressed an interest in building a crumb rubber operation in this state, possibly in the metro area. It would not be a chip and burn facility as he has out here. Councilman Elling asked about eliminating the steel belted tires and go to nylon belted tires. Ed Walsh offered in summary that there are several contingencies which need to come into play here. In the event the the County revokes its License, and the City revokes its Special Use Permit, the State will probably look actively into the abatement of that pile once the research is complete as to who we are going to deal with. Mr. Walsh asked for a copy of the City Council minutes as well as a copy of the letter from the County and any action they are going to take. Councilman Elling felt there should be a team set up instead of LaPanta going back and forth against each of us. He is playing both ends against the middle. Chairman pavelich noted that they have talked about that, also about the crumb rubber operation. But if you don't have a market for the product, you are pretty well stuck. The problem is to shut off the source. If we go through the abatement process, it may take a little longer, it will cut off income and solve the problem. Chairman pavelich also noted that they have talked about a bailing process, 4' x 6' bales, setting them up in lines to control the fire potential that exists. Page Nine Special city Council Meeting 2 August 1988 The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 pm. Respectfully submitted, ci,4r¿¡ ¿JJ"¿¿i[ d'ArC Bosell, Acting Recording Secretary - .-