During a solid waste department work session this morning, interim commissioner Fred Messerle floated the meme of privatizing the Beaver Hill Disposal Site for use as a transfer station. The site which was once operated three...
Read MoreMesserle and Parry agreed to take up the suggestion at the next solid waste work session along with other staffing matters within ten days.
Read MoreWhile it is no surprise that I do not support Fred Messerle, or the anti-government forces backing him, in their mutual quest to privatize Coos County services, I would have to say that Messerle is by far the most well mannered...
Read MoreThe topic of converting the facility into a transfer station did come up and it is apparent that Bob Main, after a very cursory and superficial review of the cost of another bond to upgrade the facility is not in favor of a new $25 to $30 million incinerator. Meanwhile, a local machinist has expressed a willingness to provide a quote on repairing the existing facility with an expected cost of less than $2 million.
Read MoreLet’s assume the Brady report is accurate and that URS and its subcontractors ACS Incorporated and Bell & Associates were risking life and limb during their inspections in 2009 why haven’t the staff complained about unsafe work conditions as well?
Read MoreComponents of the URS report have been criticized before, namely its calculations on the life of the ash trench and as you can see the assessment of URS is quite damning. Terrill Chang at URS has not responded to my request for a comment. The Brady report says, “Under no conditions should this plant be placed back in operation.” Who is the public supposed to believe, URS or Brady? There is no question this board prefers to accept the latter and today Parry claimed that county counsel was exploring the possibility of demanding a refund for the $37K URS study.
Read MoreFrom 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.
Read MoreBarton argues unsuccessfully that it’s time to cut our county solid waste department losses. What losses?
Read MoreIn my opinion, the letter from Waste Connections did not qualify for exemption from public meetings law and should not have been discussed in executive session. How many other items of this nature are withheld from public scrutiny? Lastly, we were misled last week, the board isn’t calling the curtain on Waste Connections and all three commissioners were complicit in that bit of theater.
Read MoreIn other words, Parry with the full complicity of Bob Main and Fred Messerle, misled the audience last Tuesday and have since refused to answer emails requests for clarification.
Read MoreSo which is true? Parry says they have spent a year looking into the county’s legal position. He has called enforcement “punitive” and not positive. Counselor White says “the board made a decision not to” enforce the order. Who is telling the truth? What is really in the letter to Waste Connections?
Read MoreFor more than 17 years the Solid Waste facility has been self funding, and while a budget is submitted every year, NO general fund monies have been needed to support the operation or it employees, that is until this layoff. For the first time since the facility was upgraded the county general fund will be responsible for covering the unemployment wages of the laid off workers.
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