Council switches recycling contractor

Annandale is switching recycling contractors.
City council members decided at a special meeting Monday, Sept. 24, to terminate the contract of Dave’s Recycling of Annandale because of non-performance.
The council was expected to consider a proposed contract with Wright Recycling Inc. of Delano at its regular monthly meeting this week.
The contract with Dave’s required the city to be named as an insured party in his policy, but he failed to do that, city administrator Mary Degiovanni said.
There have also been a number of complaints about customers not being satisfied, she said.
Council member Bruce Karg said owner Dave Lindala is letting the material pile up in his yard while waiting for the price to go up.
“Recycling hasn’t worked,” said council member Jim LaTour. But Karg said the city should find someone to take it over.
Degiovanni said Wright Recycling would make collections twice a month for between $2.05 and $2.25 per household.
The council voted to offer the contract to Wright and to authorize the city attorney to send Dave’s a termination letter.
The proposed contract would be for the last three months of the year.
It calls for Wright Recycling to make collections from 880 households at $2.19 per residence, or $1,927 per month.
Lindala wasn’t available.
In other action, the council:
– Asked for samples, photos, suggestions and cost estimates from Sign City to help in deciding what kind of sign to place at the entrance to the Annandale Business Park.
– Approved purchase of signs
from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for placement along Highway 55. Two of the signs, costing a total of $545, will direct visitors to the municipal parking lot at Chestnut and Cherry Avenue. Two others, costing $805, will direct drivers to Big Woods Park.
– Heard that a request for an Annandale Training Center sign along Highway 55 was denied because the police firearms training facility isn’t open often enough and because it doesn’t have “broad motorist appeal” as required by State Transportation Department guidelines.
“The use and installation of highway signing shall be limited to only those (traffic) generators which have broad motorist appeal, serve non-familiar motorists, or are the kind of facility for which a motorist normally expects highway signing,” the policy says.