10 Tons of Cardboard a Week Now Coming Through Recycling Center

Fayetteville Facility to Be Expanded With Grant Money

Fayette County Commissioners heard a report from Recycling Center Manager Paul Zapalac at their meeting last Thursday, Feb. 8.

Zapalac said the Capitol Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) recently awarded Fayette County a grant of $30,000 to expand the County’s recycling facilities in Fayetteville.

The project involves building a new pole barn in Fayetteville that will house a machine that compresses and bales recyclable materials. Zapalac said the project will make the recycling department more efficient by reducing the number of trips workers have to take when hauling recyclables from Fayetteville to the Recycling Center in La Grange.

“The goal of our recycling program is to be efficient and cost effective,” Zapalac said.

Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann said the site in Fayetteville, along with a similar project completed last year in Warrenton, provides a big savings for the County in labor.

“When you’re hauling those trailers around, your just hauling so much air,” Brossmann said. “When you’re baling it on site, you’re hauling a lot of bulk. It saves money and saves time.” Zapalac reported that his department currently recycles about 10 tons of cardboard every week, along with about 10,000 lbs. of other recyclables.

“Statewide, its pretty impressive,” Zapalac said.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff said he wishes more citizens would use the recycling center. He said the recycling center helps to alleviate road damage from heavy garbage trucks.

“The garbage trucks on our roads - they don’t do us any favors,” Berckenhoff said. “They drive in the sides of the roads and break off the edges. The more people move in, there are new trash cans out there.”

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom asked about the status of the wood mulch problem at the Recycling Center.

“We’ve got a lot of it,” Zapalac said.

Zapalac said the Recycling Center takes in about 18,000 cubic yards of wood debris every year. Some of the material comes from trees that fall on County rights-of-way in storms.

But the Recycling Center also accepts brush and wood cuttings from the public. As land becomes subdivided into smaller acreage, some of those new landowners are less inclined to burn brush on their property. So they haul it to the Recycling Center for disposal.

The County hires contractors to grind the wood debris into mulch from time to time. And the Recycling Center sells the mulch at a very low price. But the mulch pile has grown faster than the Recycling Center can sell it.

Zapalac said he looked into applying for grants to purchase a grinder, which would alleviate the cost of hiring contractors to grind the mulch. The last grant opportunity he found could have provided up to $40,000.

“What would you get in a grinder for $40,000?” he said. “We priced one last year and it was a couple hundred thousand.”

Zapalac also reported that the Fayette County Recycling Program received a $20,000 grant from Keep Texas Beautiful to help fund operations. The grant was funded by HE- B’s Community Recycling Program.

In other business, Commissioners signed an agreement with H-E-B to provide pharmacy drugs for the Fayette County Indigent Healthcare Program.

State law requires counties to fund certain healthcare services for indigent residents. Fayette County uses its indigent healthcare program to pay for prescription drugs for inmates in the Fayette County Jail. The County previously contracted with PharmHouse Drugs of La Grange for the inmates’ prescriptions. But PharmHouse closed at the end of last month.

In need of a new pharmacy, the County worked out a deal with H-E-B. Jamie Fabre, who manages the County’s indigent healthcare program, said the new deal will save the County about five percent annually. Commissioners unanimously approved the agreement contingent on some minor changes to the contract language as recommended by Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson.

In addition, County Inspector Clint Sternadel gave his monthly report on rural land development. Sternadel said his office issued 26 permits for new septic systems in January, and he completed 14 septic inspections. Sternadel also issued 20 new development permits. His office also processed 16 divisions of property.

“The majority of those divisions were small tracts and family divisions,” he said.

Those 16 divisions resulted in 28 new tracts of property created during the first month of the year.

Commissioners also awarded a bid for repairing the hump in the runway at Fayette Regional Air Center. Three companies submitted bids. Airport Manager Debra Maddox recommended the bid from Larry Young Paving, Inc. of College Station for $84,400. Commissioners voted unanimously to award the bid to Larry Young Paving.

Commissioners deferred action on a request to transfer ownership and assignment of lease of two hangers at the airport from the late Benny Leuders to John Haworth. Commissioner McBroom raised some concerns about the current validity of the agreement that the County signed with Lueders 20 years ago. Commissioners decided to delay action until their next meeting for a legal review.