County Slows Compost Deal Plan Concerns Commissioners

An already leery Spokane County Commission grew more concerned Tuesday about a city proposal to hire a California firm to run the controversial Colbert compost facility.

The City Council is poised to approve a contract with Norcal Waste Systems Inc. on Monday. The contract has the support of city and county solid-waste experts.

A local attorney whose client failed in an attempt to win the contract told commissioners Tuesday the city is rushing into a deal that may eventually become a liability for the county.

“I believe it is not in the best interest of the city, the county or its residents to enter into this contract,” attorney Joel McCormick said. “The wise thing would be to slow this thing down.”

Norcal, based in San Francisco, wants to take over operation of the Colbert facility, which has been the source of complaints and a lawsuit over odors emanating from rotting vegetation at the site.

Norcal claims its system of composting is nearly odorless. It uses “ag bag” technology, in which organic material is stuffed into huge plastic bags and allowed to ferment under regulated environmental conditions.

County Commissioners Kate McCaslin and Phil Harris support the technology but have expressed reservations about the contract, especially the city’s ability to pay for it.

The city runs the composting facility, but county commissioners are required to approve the new contract under an agreement with the city that established the regional solid-waste system. The regional system operates the solid-waste transfer stations and the waste-to-energy plant on the West Plains.

The doubts of McCaslin and Harris expanded Tuesday after meeting with McCormick.

McCormick, who represents Don Bailey and his fertilizer business, told commissioners that Norcal’s system won’t be odor-free and that a former employee has legal problems that arose while he worked for Norcal.

Bailey originally bid for the Colbert contract but withdrew after a dispute with city officials over the bidding process.

He went to court last month to try to force the city to restart the bidding process, but a judge ruled against him. He also failed to persuade the City Council to restart the bidding process.

Bailey, recovering from knee surgery, did not attend the meeting.

Assistant Spokane City Manager Roger Flint dismissed McCormick’s arguments. “The City Council listened to him and moved on,” Flint said.

Norcal officials said Tuesday their composting system is state-of-the-art.

“There are no odor problems whatsoever,” company spokesman Robert Reed said in a telephone interview. “We’ve helped San Francisco achieve a 50 percent recycling rate, and other cities down here want to do the same thing.”

Spokane city and county officials who visited a composting facility run by Norcal in California earlier this year have assured commissioners that odor won’t be a problem.

McCormick also apprised commissioners of the criminal indictment of a former Norcal executive in San Bernardino County.

The executive was indicted on federal bribery charges last year and is expected to plead guilty.

That bit of information riled McCaslin, who said she hadn’t heard it before Tuesday.

She upbraided city employee Damon Taam, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, for not telling commissioners about the company’s troubles in San Bernardino County.

“Did you think this was not relevant enough that you should at least bring it to our attention,” McCaslin said to Taam, who runs the regional solid-waste system. “If this ever occurs again, please do us the common courtesy of letting us know so we can make our own judgments.”

Reed said the executive, whom he called a “rogue employee,” has since been fired.

“We were shocked to learn about this,” he said, adding that Norcal innovations saved San Bernardino County millions of dollars. “We have cooperated fully and actively and openly.”

McCaslin and Harris asked McCormick to submit a letter with his concerns to commissioners so county staff can investigate them further.

McCaslin also is waiting for a detailed report about how the city plans to pay for the $1 million-per-year contract.