By JAMES EIK
Staff Reporter
Monday's Airway Heights City Council meeting included a workshop that reviewed a draft for an interlocal agreement for solid waste disposal.
The county's current agreement requires that the city's solid waste be transported to the Waste to Energy plant. That agreement was made in 1989, and was set for 25 years or until the bonds were paid off.
The 25 years will come first, and the agreement expires in 2014.
Discussed at previous meetings, the solid waste issue is now beginning to take shape as 2014 nears and options are placed on the table.
What has been described as a non-profit alliance of cities and towns surrounding Spokane is the current plan with the highest probability of success. Unlike the current agreement, cities can voluntarily join and leave the group if they so wish.
“The draft in front of you does not involve the city of Spokane, so this is really a collection of the county and other jurisdictions for the purposes of disposing solid waste,” City Manager Albert Tripp said.
If Airway Heights elects to join the group, it would have a share of votes related to its population and for being a city. It could then dictate some of its desires to other members in the group, in the hope that they agree.
The downside, as discussed by the council, is that Airway Heights is small in comparison to other cities in the area. As a result, the city's voice and vote could be lost among the many others. Furthermore, a two-year notice is required in order to withdraw from the group.
“To be really succinct and direct, I think when the city looks at this agreement, the question you have to ask is what is the benefit to the city, the citizens and the ratepayers,” Tripp said.
Mayor Patrick Rushing said that the group was a good start in seeking a solution to the expiring deal.
Small cities, city attorney Stanley Schwartz said, have even more options than larger cities when it comes to solid waste disposal.
Currently, the city has between November and March of next year to decide if it wants to take part in the group. The City Council asked to have time to see if it's in the city's best interest to join the group.
“That should be adequate time to obtain the consultant on the contract to evaluate all of the elements associated with disposal,” Tripp said.
A letter from Rushing to County Commissioner Al French would explain that the City Council wished to consider all of its options before making a commitment to any group.
The council initially considered a self-imposed deadline to join, but later settled on sending a reply at a future date.
The City Council also approved Resolution 2011-029, which decentralizes the city's public records maintenance structure. As stated in RCW 42.56.070 (4), a city, if proven to be a financial hardship, can change methods of maintaining public records.
In anticipation of the city's eastern annexation at the end of the year, the city passed the first reading of an ordinance stating zoning on the land.
A public hearing on zoning was held at the Sept. 12 planning commission meeting. City planner Derrick Braaten said that the commission would hold another hearing at its next meeting, Oct. 10.
“The city sought to maintain like zoning across the board,” Braaten said.
The council also voted to approve the purchase of 70 acres of land, in exchange for the provision of utilities at Spokane County Raceway. It later approved a first right of refusal with the county for an additional 26.81 acres adjacent to the aforementioned property.
During the staff report portion of the meeting, Fire Chief Mitch Metzger said that one of the city's fire trucks was en route to Nebraska for repairs. Two members of his staff were driving the vehicle, as no companies in the area offered their services to help repair the vehicle.
Metzger said that local shops didn't want to accept liability for the repairs. As such, the department was forced to send the truck back to its manufacturer. Payment for the trip comes through insurance and includes food for the staff members, return plane tickets, fuel costs and hotel rooms.
Metzger said that he and Tripp discussed the most cost-effective way to fix the truck. In the end, driving it across the country was cheaper than shipping it via railroad or plane.
The truck was damaged last winter when it slipped at the intersection of Craig and Thorpe roads. Minor repairs were made to the truck in order to make it roadworthy.
James Eik can be reached at [email protected].
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