Participants reach consensus, await decision

Cities and towns of Skagit County reached a consensus last week regarding a revised proposal for the solid waste governance board.

But Skagit County commissioners will have the final say. A nine-month moratorium prohibiting decisions on solid waste in the county approved by the commissioners last week may be lifted once all parties are on board.

Sedro-Woolley Mayor Mike Anderson and City Supervisor and Attorney Eron Berg joined representatives from entities involved with the governance board proposal on March 12 to develop an agreement for potential revisions of the plan.

“At this point, the ball is very much in their court to accept (the revisions) or propose something else,” Berg said.

Skagit County Commissioners approved a governance board last month hoping it would provide cities with input regarding solid-waste issues.

Representatives suggested four changes to the county’s most recent proposal. Several were suggested by Sedro-Woolley officials.

At the end of the meeting, participants agreed with the concepts of the revisions, said Gary Rowe, Skagit County administrator who facilitated the meeting.

Sedro-Woolley’s biggest concern was the agreement’s population-based voting structure. The problem, Anderson said, was two larger cities could outvote everyone else. Sedro-Woolley wanted at least three entities to form a decision.

In a compromise, it was agreed to base two-thirds of the vote on population, one-third on entity and at least 60 percent of a supermajority was needed to pass.

That way, Mount Vernon would hold 20.7 percent instead of 28.5, Anacortes 13.1 percent rather than 15.9, Burlington with 8.1 percent instead of 9.6 and Sedro-Woolley would have 9.3 instead of 9.7. Smaller towns like Lyman and Concrete would hold about 4 percent each.

“I thought that was a neat little twist,” Anderson said.

Other changes included revising language in the proposal to clarify the board’s policy of reducing tipping fees, increasing recycling and reducing the amount of solid waste reaching landfills, Berg said.

Another revision representatives discussed was language in the budget section of the proposal.  Berg said Sedro-Woolley city officials originally agreed with the proposed language, but suggested some additions. This included that the governance board establish a level of service, have the right to order a rate study and that the county’s budget reflect the level of service and rate study.

The final revision involved the veto authority county commissioners would have over the governance board where officials suggested the commissioners have authority to veto all decisions.

However, they would have to justify their veto regarding site designation for a possible solid waste facility, long-range plans and whether a private company enters the county’s solid waste system. To veto those decisions the commissioners would have to prove that it was either illegal, jeopardized the long-term viability of the system or doesn’t conform with the level of service.

Berg said the changes made at last week’s meeting were not huge, but significant. Sedro-Woolley city officials are not opposed to the governance board, he said. Instead, they would like it to be a success so there is a countywide system in the future.

“Our goal is a strong system,” Berg said.

The idea behind the governance board is that the cities and towns of Skagit County would work together in making decisions regarding solid waste in the county. The agreement would expire after 2013.

The county now has a basis for moving forward since city and town officials have reached a conceptual agreement, Rowe said.

At last week’s Sedro-Woolley City Council meeting, council members authorized the mayor to sign on to the governance board should commissioners accept the revisions.

Skagit County Commissioner Sharon Dillon said she is excited about the council’s vote and is glad to see the process moving forward.

The revised proposal still needs to be approved by the three commissioners and their legal counsel. They began the review process earlier this week.

If county officials do not accept the revised proposal, then more discussions and reviews will be necessary.

Important decisions to make

A moratorium approved March 11 by the Skagit County Commissioners will prohibit decisions regarding solid waste in the county.

The moratorium does not prevent Deluxe Recycling and Disposal from setting up shop in Sedro-Woolley. The facility will serve as a recycling station for citizens, and its owners are working with the city of Sedro-Woolley.

There are several decisions to be made in Skagit County regarding solid waste, and commissioners want cities’ input for them, Dillon said. Commissioners voted for a longer moratorium to give all municipalities enough time to join, she said.

“No decisions will be brought forward until all cities have a say,” she said. “We want to make sure and work through the governance board.”

If Deluxe business owners are only working as a recycle station then they do not have to receive permission from commissioners or a governance board. However, business officials have expressed interest in serving as a second solid waste transfer sight in addition to handling recyclable materials.

The business does need permission from the county to move solid waste — waste that will be placed in a landfill, not recycled — in order to serve as a transfer station, Dillon said.

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