Springfield Township officials held their noses and voted yes last week to join a cooperative program to collect and dispose of household hazardous waste.
Trustees had previously endorsed the concept of the North Oakland Household Hazardous Waste Consortium (dubbed ‘No Haz?), but last-minute haggling over liability insurance led to a Thursday, April 10 debate over the final draft of the interlocal agreement.
‘My opinion is that we should go forward with the program with the understanding that the risk is minimal,? Trustee Dennis Vallad said, ‘and express to the county our discontent with their stance on indemnification.?
At issue was how participating communities would be insured in case of accidents while collecting materials brought by residents to collection sites. Officials said their understanding was that each participating municipality would be listed as an ‘additional insured? on the final contract, but in reality no such listing will be provided.
Although municipalities may be issued a ‘certificate of insurance,? that is seen as a reduced level of legal protection. Extensive lobbying was unsuccessful in changing county officials? position in the matter.
In a memo to trustees, township attorney Greg Need said risk to the township ‘is probably not significant, but is certainly present to some extent.?
Need also speculated that if the local governments tried to force the county into a compromise, county officials could scrap the entire No Haz project.
‘We were given no opportunity to discuss this contract,? Supervisor Collin Walls said.
Need said Oxford Township officials had researched buying additional insurance coverage for the hazardous waste collection, but ‘weren’t very successful.? The best quote for $1 million coverage included a $10,000 premium and a $25,000 deductible, Need said.
Walls said the contracted vendor’s employees (not volunteers) will handle waste materials, and Springfield Township’s collection site (the Road Commission for Oakland County’s garage on Dixie Highway) is not township property.
Walls said the township has faced liability lawsuits in the past, however, noting a tire collection project years ago in which a contractor was supposed to collect and shred old tires, but failed to do so and then went bankrupt.
‘My support is only because of the importance of the program,? Vallad said. ‘If it were any less important, I would not support it because the county has held us hostage on too many occasions for very similar items.?
Clerk Nancy Strole shared the concern about liability, but noted that the contract is a one-year agreement.
‘It gives us a chance to assess it,? Strole said. ‘The need is not going to go away or diminish.?
Trustees also debated how to handle the $35 per-car fee that will be charged by the consortium to help defray costs. The township will also pay a first year fee of $4,149, and must recruit volunteers for parking and other non-waste-handling tasks. The consensus was that residents should share the cost by paying $15.
‘We don’t want to have it so high that it’s a disincentive,? Strole said, noting that many residents are used to paying a $10 charge for removal of Freon from old refrigerators.
‘If we find it is a disincentive, we can always lower it to $10 the next year,? said Trustee David Hopper.
Education will be necessary, officials said. The program requires residents to call No Haz to set up an appointment, then purchase a voucher at the township treasurer’s office.
Walls agreed that the program is necessary, but
‘very, very reluctantly? cast his yes vote.
‘This is a very convoluted system,? he said.