BOCC talks changes for transfer station

With all the recent talk of dumping garbage and a new push for disposing of waste the right way, The Shoshone County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) are days away from instituting a few changes at the county transfer station.

Working in conjunction with transfer station employees Vince Peterson and Shannon Atkins, the BOCC has held several workshops this month with the goal of “improving services provided to the public and increasing overall efficiency of operations.”

These workshops have been similar in nature to what the BOCC did earlier this year with the Sheriff’s Office and their pay matrix.

Commissioner Mike Fitzgerald explained that these workshops have focused on six key issues- making payment more convenient for visitors, possibly changing the hours of operation, reworking the definition of what qualifies as “wood waste”, amending the number of wood visits allowed in one day, exploring the possibility of increasing or decreasing fees, and talking about the idea of instituting a sticker program so as to better track county resident visits.

After speaking with the commissioners and reviewing a draft resolution provided to the News-Press, it appears that action will only be taken on a few of the previously mentioned items.

In regard to payment convenience, Fitzgerald says that a card reader will be installed in the weigh-scale house so that visitors can pay fees with a credit/debit card instead of strictly cash or mailing out a bill.

The major change shown in the draft is the definition of what qualifies as wood waste.

Fitzgerald explains that the previous definition set in 2015 was incredibly broad, allowing transfer station users to bring a variety of materials in under that category.

This has allowed some to avoid fees and it also creates more work for employees to sort the materials.

Detailed in the draft resolution, the new definition reads-

“Sorted Wood: Sorted wood waste is defined as wood products, including but not limited to: limbs, branches, lumber and clean stumps. Excluded from this definition are railroad ties and treated wood. All sorted wood must be free of garbage, metal & rocks.”

This new definition will also lay the groundwork for a plan starting next year where the transfer station will be able to chip wood that is brought in on-site and sell it, bringing in more money to the county.

Adding to the wood waste subject, the BOCC also plans to eliminate the “one wood visit per day” rule, allowing non-business county residents to make several approved wood waste drop-offs in a 24-hour period.

For example, if an individual is doing yard work and has a significant amount of waste that can not be disposed of in one trip, you can now do it in several trips.

The rule was initially created due to the transfer station not having the capacity or the resources to handle a large amount of wood waste, but additional bins are now available.

As for the remaining unaddressed items, the BOCC does not plan to any action on them at this time.

Hours of operation and the current fee structure will remain the same.

No details on the sticker program are available at this time, but it will most likely be instituted next year.

Fitzgerald says that this process is to improve the overall experience for those who use the transfer station and public participation on this project is welcome.

BOCC will vote on the final resolution Wednesday, Aug. 2.

To reach the BOCC, you can call (208) 752-3331.