By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
A practice which began long ago, and no one knows why, is about to change – and it will save the City of Decatur a nice chunk of money.
When contractors hired by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) remove a logjam from under the Wendell Macklin Bridge on Monroe St. – which is also US 224 – they haul the logs/trees to Decatur’s Public Works layout on Elm St.
The trees/logs, and any other wood, are dumped there and the city is left to dispose of them.
Chipping all that wood can be more than a little expensive, Street/Sanitation Superintendent Matt Schultz said during a discussion at a recent board of works and safety meeting.
“We’re getting stuck with grinding it up,” Schultz said. “I don’t think that’s right.”
Mayor Dan Rickord agreed, noting that the contractor is being paid to remove the objects and haul them away.
City Attorney Anne Razo said storage and lack of available space must also be considered, “so it makes sense to charge them.”
“It’s really gotten out of control the last couple of years,” the mayor added, also citing dwindling space at the large Elm St. site.
Board member Craig Coshow pointed that, considering the price of diesel fuel, the contractors have a good deal going with a dump site in such close proximity.
Schultz has had some discussion with a contractor about a possible fee and what that might amount to.
So the board decided to have further discussion with contractors before it determines an equitable fee for taking in the logs and disposing of them.
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