City Delays Compost Odor Study

Spokane City Council delayed plans Monday for a $25,000 odor study at the controversial composting plant in north Spokane.

Council members postponed a decision for two weeks so neighbors of the plant would have time to review the study’s scope.

Two members of an advisory committee appointed by Mayor Jack Geraghty to oversee the plant’s future told the council they never had seen copies of the proposed study.

“I’m not sure what you’re voting on,” said Michael Barcelo, a committee member who lives near the plant.

Geraghty said he was “absolutely appalled … to hear from the neighborhood of the way that this was handled in a manner that was cursory at best.”

Phil Williams, director of the regional solid waste program, said after the meeting that committee members had had ample time to review the proposed study outline.