CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston, St. Albans and Dunbar on Monday joined the Kanawha County Commission in bailing out the county's financially troubled recycling center on Slack Street.

Charleston City Council members agreed to give $25,000 to the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority, which operates the recycling center beside the Elk River in Charleston.

The amount was the highest of the three cities. At separate meetings Monday, the St. Albans City Council approved $10,000 for the recycling center; Dunbar's City Council approved $5,000.

County commissioners decided in April to provide $100,000 during the next year in quarterly installments. But the county funding came with strings: commissioners wanted the Solid Waste Authority to obtain matching funds from local city governments.

Norm Steenstra, the authority's director, told Charleston's City Council Finance Committee he approached mayors in Charleston, South Charleston, St. Albans and Dunbar during the past few weeks and gotten "nothing but positive reactions."

The Solid Waste Authority is seeking $15,000 from South Charleston, for a total of $55,000 from the four cities.

For years, the recycling center had been virtually self-supporting, meeting its operating expenses by selling the cans, bottles, paper and cardboard it took in. But when the economy went south last fall, so did prices for recyclables.

"We had reserves that we estimated would carry us through spring," Steenstra said. "We made cuts in personnel. We made some cuts in services."

Except for a brief period last year when the center refused to accept plastics, Charleston has sent its recycled goods to the county center for years.

Like other cities with populations of 10,000 or more (including South Charleston and St. Albans, but not Dunbar) it is required by state law to pick up recycled goods curbside.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston, St. Albans and Dunbar on Monday joined the Kanawha County Commission in bailing out the county's financially troubled recycling center on Slack Street.

Charleston City Council members agreed to give $25,000 to the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority, which operates the recycling center beside the Elk River in Charleston.

The amount was the highest of the three cities. At separate meetings Monday, the St. Albans City Council approved $10,000 for the recycling center; Dunbar's City Council approved $5,000.

County commissioners decided in April to provide $100,000 during the next year in quarterly installments. But the county funding came with strings: commissioners wanted the Solid Waste Authority to obtain matching funds from local city governments.

Norm Steenstra, the authority's director, told Charleston's City Council Finance Committee he approached mayors in Charleston, South Charleston, St. Albans and Dunbar during the past few weeks and gotten "nothing but positive reactions."

The Solid Waste Authority is seeking $15,000 from South Charleston, for a total of $55,000 from the four cities.

For years, the recycling center had been virtually self-supporting, meeting its operating expenses by selling the cans, bottles, paper and cardboard it took in. But when the economy went south last fall, so did prices for recyclables.

"We had reserves that we estimated would carry us through spring," Steenstra said. "We made cuts in personnel. We made some cuts in services."

Except for a brief period last year when the center refused to accept plastics, Charleston has sent its recycled goods to the county center for years.

Like other cities with populations of 10,000 or more (including South Charleston and St. Albans, but not Dunbar) it is required by state law to pick up recycled goods curbside.

"But we're not required to operate a recycling center," Steenstra said. "If we should go out of business, we're not in violation of any law. But cities would have to scramble."

So Charleston and other area cities have a stake in keeping the center open.

"The positive, from my standpoint, it's the first time that the cities and the county are saying, 'We want to keep our recycling program,'" Steenstra said.

Also Monday, council members authorized Mayor Danny Jones to enter two contracts with the state Department of Transportation, which is funneling federal grants for the Kanawha Trestle Trail project.

City Manager David Molgaard said a task force he formed after an April fire that singed some of the trestle's timbers found few environmental issues.

"We tested the soil. That came back pretty clean, surprisingly clean," he said. "We do know there are some asbestos firebreaks that we'll have to address."

The city needs to start spending two grants obtained several years ago, he said -- one for $125,000, the other $787,143 -- but is still waiting to learn how a $1.9 million earmark from U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd will be administered.

"To move forward now, we'll have to retain a structural engineer to do final design work," Molgaard said. "By entering these agreements now, we're not committing to doing the project."

Reach Jim Balow at ba...@wvgazette.com">ba...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5102.