PRINCETON — The city of Princeton has agreed to sell its garbage transfer station to Republic Services Environmental Solutions III, LLC for $2.5 million.
The purchase includes the building and more than 20 acres of land at 101 Peggy Lane. During its regular meeting Monday, the City Council unanimously approved on first reading of an ordinance adopting the sale agreement. The new owners will begin operations at the site July 1.
City Manager Rachel Skaggs said the sale is a result of a 14-month in-depth evaluation of proposals received by three experienced operators in Illinois.
"The city's operations lease with Illinois Valley Waste was soon to expire in 2016, when we were approached to consider an actual purchase of the transfer station and land," she said. "Once we received all the proposals, we began to understand that the value of the transfer station to the region (was) immensely appreciated. We believed that selling would significantly reduce the city's liability and the Environmental Protection Agency requirements, while at the same time allow the city to lock in disposal fees and host fees for 30 years."
Republic Services plans to upgrade the facilities and the handling of the city's solid waste streams, including recycling, Skaggs said.
"Residents will see no change at their curbside for weekly collection of garbage and recyclables," she said. "This will continue to be collected each week by the city crews."
However, this fall, the city will be closing the recycling center drop-off on North Euclid Avenue and Republic Services will create a new drop-off facility at the transfer station on Peggy Lane. The new facility will have defined hours of operation and will be closed on Sundays.
"Although we know this type of arrangement won't be popular with everyone, it will control the escalating abuse in the use of the North Euclid Avenue drop-off site as it is today," Skaggs said. "The city will advertise any new procedures that residents will need to observe when the transition is made."
In the purchase agreement, Republic Services also plans to allow for up to two electronic recycling events per year at the site. Skaggs said the city will have to evaluate the need for two events per year, but there are plans to host at least one per year.
According to a news release issued by the city during the meeting, the transfer station was permitted by the IEPA in 1992, after the former landfill property reached capacity and closed. The city has leased the transfer station property and operations management to Dean's Transfer and its successor, Illinois Valley Waste, since nearly the time it was opened.
Solid waste from Princeton and the surrounding area is gathered at the transfer station, then hauled to an IEPA permitted landfill. More than 52,000 tons of waste were transferred from the site in 2016.
The council plans to take action on the second and final reading of the ordinance regarding the sale agreement at its next regular meeting on Monday, June 19.
In other news, the council:
• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance amending fees and procedures for commercial landscape and tree disposal on city properties.
• Approved to waive the second reading of an ordinance and approved establishing prevailing wages.
• Approved a resolution regarding an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Emergency Telephone System Board of Bureau County for a single optic fiber connection.
Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
Princeton sells lot in Technology Park
PRINCETON — Also on Monday, June 5, the Princeton City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of Lot 4 in the Princeton Technology Park to ICAHN (Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network) at a cost of $25,300.
The size of the lot is 2.53 acres, and the city agreed to sell the lot for $10,000 an acre according to the ordinance.
The city will have to approve a second and final reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale to make it final during its next meeting on Monday, June 19.