Despite knowing that Waste Connections was not living up to a 2003 franchise agreement to deliver a minimum tonnage to the Beaver Hill Disposal Site the Coos County Commission chose not to enforce the agreement and it wasn’t until the company got greedy and sent a letter demanding a hauling contract that the board acknowledged the shortfall. Recently, the county put out an emergency RFP to haul waste from the BHDS temporarily while an independent engineer evaluated the incinerators and ducting. Waste Connections sent a March 5 letter to county counsel, Oubonh White, arguing, ironically, that the county was violating the company’s exclusivity rights under the franchise agreement. The company argued that its rights extended beyond just the collection of garbage within the franchise area and the county countered that flow control and processing rights fell to the Coos County Solid Waste department. “A “Collector” under Coos County Code Section 07.01.040(2)(d) means, “a person authorized by Coos County, local governmental units or state agencies, to collect, transfer, or transport waste and solid waste within Coos County.”
Regarding the shortfall White affirms everything we have been reporting here for months.
“Between 2010 and 2011 there has been a decrease of over 3000 tons of solid waste delivered, an approximately 60% decline. This decrease is essentially starving the site from operating at a sustainable level. When confronted about the decrease in tonnage, local site manager Bill Richardson and other representatives insist it is the result of an overall decrease in tonnage statewide. However, statistics provided by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) show an actual increase by a ratio of nearly 2: 1 of waste being delivered out of the County (including to a disposal site in Potero Hills, CA owned and operated by Waste Connections) while Beaver Hill is experiencing a Significant decrease. Further, it’s our understanding Waste Connections has agreed to pay DEQ nearly $10,000 in fees due for waste deposited out of state”
Ignoring the matter of the missing tonnage and lost revenue White writes, “…the County is focused at this point on addressing the larger overarching issue of how Beaver Hill can move forward as a fiscally sustainable facility. The crucial volume issue will be addressed either by enforcement of our current franchise structure or the implementation of statutory flow control.” White’s position is upheld by a 2006 Supreme Court ruling, UNITED HAULERS ASSOCIATION v. ONEIDA-HERKIMER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.
“Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion distinguished the Oneida- Herkimer ordinance from previous ordinances that were struck down by the Court by emphasizing that the favored waste-disposal facilities were publicly operated. The majority found that “[t]he flow control ordinances in this case benefit a clearly public facility, while treating all private companies exactly the same.”
The county charges commercial haulers $79 per ton. In 2010, Bill Richardson, site manager for Les’ Sanitary which is owned by Waste Connections said in an email “Waste Connections feels that we would be able to reload and transfer all MSW from a Coos County disposal site to an alternate site for the rate of $79.00 per ton.” From fiscal year 2001 through 2009 the facility averaged 23,351 tons annually but then one hauler and one hauler only started cutting back on delivery. From fiscal year 2009 through 2011 the site has been shorted 8,351 tons at $79 per ton or $659,774 which doesn’t even include the current fiscal year. The site lost $421,849 in waste disposal revenue last year alone, apparently all due to Waste Connections.
Beaver Hill Tonnage
FY 01-02 23,552.74 FY 06-07 23,079.74FY 02-03 24,266.15 FY 07-08 22,479.73
FY 03-04 23,880.46 FY 08-09 22,293.85
FY 04-05 23,427.60 FY 09-10 20,339.50
FY 05-06 23,825.40 FY 10-11 18,011.36
Failure of the board to enforce this agreement is pure nonfeasance at best and deliberate sabotage at worst but it gets even worse. According to Tom Peterson of DEQ the BHDS can operate two burners off of one side of the facility while repairs are made to damaged ducts but instead the board has shut down the incineration process entirely. Even worse, last spring the solid waste department purchased approximately $400K worth of metal separation equipment to reclaim recyclable metal out of the waste stream and the ash trench. With cumulative operation of approximately three months staff pulled out almost a $250K in metal and there is an estimated $1 to $1.5 million still to be recovered yet the board has idled not only the incinerators but also laid off workers and halted metal separation that could earn $1 million a year.
The board has rewarded Waste Connections with a contract to haul trash despite the fact the company has starved the facility and then idles the department, even the metal reclamation for which it unanimously approved the equipment purchase last spring. Parry has characterized enforcement of the agreement or the implementation of a systems benefit fee as “punitive” and not a “positive way to move forward”. Not positive? Just who is Parry thinking of when he says enforcing an agreement is not positive? Is he thinking of the taxpaying public he swore an oath to serve or the company? Parry may be confused about who is paying his salary and Messerle may have inadvertently betrayed his real allegiance when he was overheard saying, “it costs us $79 a ton” to process waste when in fact the county earns $79 a ton. It costs Waste Connections, it doesn’t cost the solid waste department. Have both commissioners conflated the company with the taxpayer?
Before Messerle was sworn in to office several people expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest because of his extensive property holdings, business dealings and because of his wife’s employment with the South Coast Development Council. Bill Richardson of Waste Connections happens to be on the board of directors of SCDC as is Jon Barton who is currently running a letter writing campaign at The World newspaper pushing to convert Beaver Hill to a transfer site for Waste Connections.
Bob Main handpicked Parry and Messerle and it might be argued that he picked Messerle twice if you count the infamous “do over” on May 17 of last year.
I’d like to think the paper is genuinely concerned about feeding hungry people but it is probably doing more harm than good by pulling ORCCA away from grant writing etc. Maybe the conflicts of interest at the county and at the port are just too complicated for the paper to artculate
Its still crickets over there at the world. Absolutely nothing about Waste Connections
Poor Jon Barton, he’s at the World comments demanding to know how much money Solid Waste lost last year, demanding Kay answer that !! What a douche bag. Won’t fall for that one Jon, no hemorraghing until YOU and Cam took over last year. But Barton claims it’s been in the red for years. NOW the little whiner ONLY wants you to see last years’ figures. We know Jon, you and your lackey Cam Parry have done all you can to gut it. Not necessary, listen to the workers of this county, you elite tax dollar suckers did your best to gut the facility. We are not going down easy boys. How about Waste Connections strapping on some huevos and telling us how many millions he owes us?
Thank you Dragon, all the words I can come up with start with an F.
Can’t find the word you’re looking for? Try one of these:
Nonfeasance: Failure to perform an act that is either an official duty or a legal requirement. The neglect or refusal, without sufficient excuse, to do what is a officer’s legal duty to do.
Malfeasance: Wrongdoing or improper or dishonest conduct, especially by a person who holds public office or a position of trust. The wrongful or injurious performance of an act that might have been lawfully done.
Collusion: A secret agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose.
I’m still asking, is it possible for We The People to collect these monies owed us? Has Cam responded to anyone else’s emails? We’re talking serious money here folks, now we know why Barton’s Cabal is fighting so hard through their secretary Clark and The World. Cam needs to be grilled publicly on this one, we have the truth on our side, and right now that’s ALL we got in this county. Shame on every one of the dogs, damn it , this is OUR money ! And OUR jobs.
Have any of your contributors read the agreements with Waste Management? Oh Bone White has proven many times that she is not the most knowledgable lawyer on the planet and with only five years experience as a lawyer I cant blame her. I blame the two, not three, commissioners who chose her as county counsel. I suspect outside legal counsel will cost the county plenty again this year. On some matters she has been all over the place. The lady can talk forever and say nothing. The county Code may define “A Collector” and other things relevant. But, was that section incorporated into the agreements at least by reference? I heard that a citizen has been trying to get copies of the agreemnets and has been getting the run around by various county people. I heard that they spent an hour yesterday trying to find the person with the agreemnets so they could get copies.