Public Comment Sought On Waste Transfer Station Hearing Will Be Thursday On Proposal Rankin Calls ‘Long-Term, Money-Saving Operation’

Residents get a chance to voice their opinions Thursday on the county’s plan to build a solid waste transfer station near Garwood.

Hearing Examiner Gary Young will conduct a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, 451 Government Way, on the transfer station that would replace 39 Dumpsters clustered in Athol, Twin Lakes and Garwood.

“This is a long-term, money-saving operation,” Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin said. “It will add years to our current (Fighting Creek) landfill.”

The Kootenai County Commission on May 30 approved the $245,000 purchase of three parcels that make up 61 acres, located 11 miles north of Coeur d’Alene on Ramsey Road.

Steve Wulf, the county’s solid waste director, said the actual cost of the transfer station has not been determined.

“It’s going to be a multimillion dollar project,” Wulf said.

The hearing will allow residents to voice their comments about the conditional-use permit for the proposed transfer station. County commissioners will consider those comments before voting on the permit.

The county’s solid waste department has been setting a portion of its fees aside for capital projects. So far, the department has collected about $2 million, Wulf said.

Rankin said the solid waste fees “will not increase” because of the project.

Wulf wasn’t so sure: “At this point in time, it’s yet to be decided.” With rail access at the site, the county hopes to ship waste to other landfills in southeast Idaho or Oregon.

Shipping by train is expected to cost about the same as it does to haul the waste by truck to Fighting Creek, located near Rockford Bay. The real savings come by prolonging the life of the landfill, Rankin said.

Wulf recently hosted presentations for city leaders from Athol, Spirit Lake and Rathdrum.

The station will allow the county to eliminate problems with the Dumpsters, such as contractors dumping roofing material.

“I don’t know how many hundred (Dumpsters) a month are filled by people from Spokane, the Spokane Valley and contractors,” Rankin said. “We’ve had people cut through fences to go in and dump.”

Other than the road issues and a Bayview resident who complained about the longer distance to drive, the project has sparked few complaints.

County planners did receive two letters from the Weller family objecting to the transfer station’s location.

“We own a 10-acre parcel on Weller Court,” stated a Sept. 11 letter signed by both Courtney and Lisa Weller. “We strongly object to the introduction of a solid waste transfer station immediately north of our upscale subdivision …”

Rankin said that while it may not be pleasing to all, the transfer station will be well worth the cost.

“We’ve looked at it for several years,” Rankin said. “This is the most economically feasible way we can do this and save the taxpayers’ dollars.”