by Matt Marquardt –
MASON CITY – The North Iowa Landfill board voted down a long-term contract with Energy Recovery Specialists tonight.
Due to the absence of several small-town representatives, the contract needed 30 votes to pass and only got 24. Just three members voted in favor of the deal: Mason City, Cerro Gordo County and Hanlontown. The vote is weighted, based on population. Mason City is the largest weighted vote, with 19 votes.
ERS had proposed a $35 million dollar trash to energy plant for Mason City’s south side. Approval of a deal with the North Iowa Landfill was pivotal to their plant becoming a reality.
At this meeting, landfill attorney James Locher went through the contract with the board page by page. None of the Landfill Executive Board members favored the deal, and they explained why to the full board. Landfill Director Bill Rowland sent a letter to the board yesterday explaining why he did not support a contract agreement with ERS, citing a report from a consulting company which questioned the viability of ERS.
The public was allowed to ask questions, and those were answered by attorneys from both sides and the executive board. Many supporters of ERS were present as well as many against the deal. Both sides made solid points. The board itself then asked questions and attempted to make sense of the contract.
In the end, the votes were not there to pass the deal. More on this story coming.
Watch video:
Some reaction to the vote:
To; X
Be informed I am not against ANYONE coming in here and building such a facility as long as it is proven to be safe for the environment. If you are eluding to the fat man and those who serve under his boot, you are terribly wrong. I have always wanted what was best for this community no matter who may have brought it here.
Anonymous Reply
February 3, 2012 at 1:09 pm
I wonder if the people commenting on the greatness of this project would have been willing to work in a hot building sorting through rotting garbage, dirty dippers, animal waste, a mixed brew of liquid that would empty your stomach and all the other filth being disposed of. I mean we can’t get enough workers for good jobs. Serta is advertising for workers now.
This comment goes to X that commented on Peter’s post. I went to Rochester and saw how they used their garbage for fuel. I’m not against using garbage for fuel. What I am against is trying something that has to many red flags. X did you go to all the different meetings? The planning board, the public meeting, landfill meetings? If you did you had to hear the different answers to the same questions. They never told the same story twice first there was no emissions going in the air then at another meeting they say their would be. They needed 250 tons of garbage a day then they changed they only needed 90 to 130 when the landfill said they couldn’t give them the 250, they said at one meeting the hazards waste would be shipped to Utah then they say their won’t be any hazards waste so which is it? Way to many red flags and why was there such a rush to get this done. The landfill never got the contract until 7 when they got at the meeting. Would you buy a major purchase without first reading the fine print? I think the board did the only thing they could with the amount of time they had to work with.
Oh Bill they do not..it is not even close what they have. You must be thinking an arena. Ooooh so many jobs lost. Dont think so. Hardly. Anyone can work if they want to. period
Minneapolis has the same thing down town and you can not smell a damm thing. It is clean air coming from it. What a shame on lot bring it in, they need to open there minds and job bring JOBS in here.
SCORE!!! Can’t always get what you want! Good minds and supporters thinking it through and came up with the absolute RIGHT answer! Breath free and clean MC!
Jobless rate down. You can work if you really want to, it’s out there. Bookmeyer get frunk you will feel more like your self and no planning and plotting we will get you every time. Already have plenty of times. On tape too!
I talked to several members on the board last night and they have a tremendous amount of respect for Bill and the executive board. I know this was not an easy decision for the landfill. I just want to say thank you for looking at and listening to both sides of the issue and doing what you felt what was best for the landfill. Like I said last night there is a lot of money to be made out of garbage and I say let our landfill look at ways to make energy into fuel. Rochester is doing it and I believe we can to.
This town is beging to be a joke. Or still is
Good point, Anonymous. I forget about the Target Distribution center. Not only does the distribution center employ enty level jobs, it also has employs professional positions.
You would think a community such as MC would begin to wonder why they’re being passed up when they are ideally located to major interstates.
Some community will get some jobs apparantly we don’t need the
m here. Other businesses looking to expand will surely notice MC’s welcome wagon also and go some where else. The casino and Targets distribution center are examples of this.
Another lost oppportunity for MC. I hope this website follows the story ERS to see what community they land in. I’m sure the competing communities for this plant are laughing at MC for passing over these jobs.
Same thing happened with the casino. MC was worried about the crime a casino would bring. Yeah, lots of crime there….not. The communities are thriving off of the revenue. Another lost economic opportunity.
Is it just me or is Mason City an ash pile to the North side (Lime Creek), and since that didn’t go so well, we’re gonna try some new stuff on the South side?
I AM SO SICK OF THIS CITY, WHY DONT THEY LET THE PEOPLE VOTE FOR S%(@ LIKE THIS???????????? WAKE THE fUK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get over yourself solberg. The comments directed your are self inflicted.
It’s a guarantee the bookmeyer camp is busy plotting on how to revise this. His ego wont allow him to accept this decision. We see the same actions being taken with the proposed multipurpose center. Hurry hurry and force it in.
I would bet the member from Clear Lake was being put under heavy pressure from MC and I greatly respect his decision. Not every one is a puppet.
The defeat of the CES proposal brings forth two messages; the first bearing evidence of what a united front can accomplish. To all who gave of their time and hard work to bring to the forefront the possibilities of dangerous health risks…your efforts were not without merit; thank you. The second lesson should resonate through City Hall that there are those who live here will not be pushed into something just because you want it. The general population here are not sheep, on the contrary they are conscientious hard working people who care about their children and neighbors.
The concept of the process that was rejected I am told has upwards of 175 other developers offering the same or similar facilities, contact someone with operations that are up and running.
We certainly wouldn’t want there to be a double standard as to how the news is reported at this site. Matt, I assume you are going to ask some ‘tough questions’ of the landfill board members who were not present for such an important vote similar to yesterday when you referred to Solberg being more interested in her mailbox?
Thank you LNI board members for weighing all information and basing your decision off it. Hopefully city hall will learn a lesson on how not to promote a project. Keep all information above board. Don’t remove everyone that offers differing opinions. Never send an over inflated ego to try to tell existing board members how it’s going to be.
Try HONESTY INTEGRITY and CLARITY. You might find how well it works.
Oh BS NOT just for hockey our ASS. Solberg you just want it for your thang of hockey. NEVER will make it you freaks. You claim we are dying with no jobs yet we can support this kind of thing. Look around do really think the people here are going to make it fly? LOOK! If anything (really should just drop it)HAS TO GO TO VOTE!!!! Let the people say! That’s what you are for! Tornquist can you please go to school to learn how to talk! Who could listen to you for long about anything.Oh by the way…hahaha you alien bully! We won we won we won you didn’t !!! hahahaaa! Logic does work! Not bullying!
I was once told by a woman I was dating, Sometimes no means no, and sometimes no means try harder (said with a smile and a wink).
No can mean different things to different people.
There was the Bookmeyer, NO, NO, NO, comment at a ZBA meeting, there is an article here somewhere about it.
The following ZBA meeting only one ZBA member voted no on CES. The one memeber to really listen to the Mayor-No, NO, NO.
No, No, No, has special meaning to me. I try very hard to remember that 3 no’s make a GO. Or, I should say, 3 KNOWs make a GO. Let me explain. Three knows make a go when you know in your head it’s the right thing to do. When you know in your heart it’s the right thing to do. AND, when you know in your gut it’s the right thing to do.
One voting member on the LNI board seemed deeply troubled on how to vote. The single vote that could have passed the contract acceptance. I want you to KNOW Tony, you’re my hero. I can see it was a hard decision for you. You may be second guesing yourself even now. You may take some flack for voting your KNOWs. Tony, you have my respect!
Thank you everyone for voting your KNOWs. Thank you MR MAYOR for reminding us all to vote our KNOWs. Yes, sometimes no means no, and sometimes…..no means try harder.