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May 25, 2011
 
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indian Valley Record Wednesday, March 25, 2011 5A Public works dumps waste issues on board Dan McDonald Staff Writer dmcdonald@plumasnews.com The Plumas County Public Works department dumped a heaping pile of trash issues on the Board of Supervisors last week. After sifting through the recommendations from Direc- tor of Public Works Bob Per- reault, the board approved a few recommendations and sent a few others back for more discussion at a Plumas County Integrated Waste Man- agement Task Force work- shop scheduled for June 21. To help balance the Public Works books for this fiscal year, the supervisors ap- proved a 1 percent increase of the administration fee charged to the county's two trash collectors, Feather River Disposal (Waste Management) and InterMountain Disposal. The board also approved ap- plying this year's interest earned from a $3.4 million fund, earmarked for the even- tual closing of the Chester landfill, to the deficit. The $37,000 gained by the 1 percent increase and the $20,000 interest from the clos- ing fund will balance the bud- get, Perreault said. The board also approved Perreault's recommendation to wait a little longer to buy landfill insurance. Special "pollution and reme- diation" insurance for the county's two dumps could eventually be needed to bolster the county's credit rating. The board agreed to consider buy- ing that insurance next year. The life of the Graeagle Transfer Station was extend- ed at least a little longer. The board decided to in- clude that issue in the June 21 workshop. Until further notice, the transfer station will operate one day per week (Sunday). The station has teetered on the edge of being closed be- cause InterMountain Disposal is losing money operating it. That factored into Inter- Mountain manager Ricky Ross' request for a 10.2 percent rate increase from the county. According to a Public Works report, InterMountain Disposal claimed a 0.22 per- cent loss in fiscal 2010. However, the report showed Waste Management had a 17 percent profit during that same period. Following is some of the discussion from the Tuesday, May 17, Board of Supervisors meeting: A 1 percent increase for both solid waste contracts Perreault asked the board to increase the administra- tion fee from the current 4 percent to 5 percent, a 1 per- cent increase. The increase would be retroactive to July 1, 2010. He also asked that it be called "an operations fee." "This administration fee does much more than just ad- ministration," Perreault said. "Most of those funds go to preparing reports for the state -- the monitoring, the testing and the like. And it also cov- ers the staff that is assigned to administer the solid waste program." Ross and Waste Manage- ment's Greg Martinelli said they understood the need for the increase. "I understand what that 1 percent is for, it's to help op- erations for the county," Ross said. "But I would at least like to get my increase in there." InterMountain Disposal's request for a rate increase is "I think we need to sit down and come up with a (curbside recycling) plan that you folks want to see ... We are a service provider. That is what we are supposed to be doing for you." Greg Martinelli, Waste Management scheduled for discussion at the June 21 workshop. Solid waste closure fund The balance of the closure fund is $3,443,24?. The interest earned on that account has been added to the fund every year in the antici- pation of paying for the clos- ing of the Chester landfill. The interest for fiscal year 2010-11 is approximately $20,000. Current cost estimates to close the landfill are $2,312,645, That amount has been approved by the state. Supervisor Sherrie Thrall said she wasn't sure using the interest to pay current bills was a good idea. "One of the heartburns that I have with using that interest for operations is that my expe- rience in life is that nothing gets cheaper as time goes by," Thrall said. "And so I have al- ways assumed that the interest rolling over into that account at least to some extent -- off- set the increased cost that clo- sure would be over time." Perreault said using the in- terest to balance this year's budget was a one-time thing. He added the closure fund is well funded. "I would expect that with the $1 million-plus surplus -- even if our cost estimate was low -- that we should not be short," he said. Landfill insurance The county has never in- sured its landfills against costs associated with poten- tial environmental damage. However, Perreault said a recent report from indepen- dent auditor Smith & Newell contained a recommendation that the county purchase spe- cial "pollution and remedia- tion insurance" for the Gopher Hill and Chester landfills. "We've been having dumps since kingdom come, and now all of a sudden we have to have insurance?" Supervisor Robert Meacher wondered aloud. Perreault said the county hasn't purchased that kind of insurance before due to the low risk. But he said not do- ing so could affect the coun- ty's financial rating. The county's administra- tive officer, Jack Ingstad, said he would explore the issue. The board ;€oted to go with- out the insurance for the rest of the fiscal year. Graeagle Transfer Station On Dec. 14, 2010, the Board of Supervisors adopted a mo- tion that required Public Works to submit a monthly report on the transfer station. Public Works, in collabora- tion with the Citizens Com- mittee on the Graeagle Trans- fer Station, is recommending the site be open on Sundays until a final decision is made. In addition to solid waste, oil and co-mingled recycling is being accepted. Under this Sunday-only sce- nario, InterMountain Dispos- al is projecting an annual profit of $1,915 for the transfer station. Ross said that if the Graea- gle site were closed, he would ask for 2.51 percent to be knocked off his requested rate increase. The issue will be addressed at the June 21 workshop. Proposal to retain R3 Con- suiting Public Works is proposing the consulting firm R3 Con- sulting be used (at a cost not to exceed $20,000) to create a Refuse Rate Index (RRI) that could be used as a guide for future rate increases. The consultants would also audit the March 2010 finan- cial statements submitted by the county's two solid waste companies. Supervisor Jon Kennedy thought this proposal was a waste of money. "We have two garbage com- panies doing business with us. One of them is the biggest in Portola, and the other I think is the biggest in the world," Kennedy said. "I would imagine they've got some expertise. We shouldn't have to seek out a consultant. "I can't imagine that, at least Waste Management, wouldn't have some sort of (RRI) template that we could use without paying the money to (consultants)." Supervisor Terry Swofford said allowing the trash com- panies to provide their own rate index would be "like putting the fox in charge of the hen house." But Waste Management's Martinelli said his company uses an established govern- ment index. "It's called the Garbage and Trash Index," he said. "They are not our indexes. They are regu- lated by the federal government. Just go on the computer and pull them off. There's no funny business here." The issue will be discussed at the workshop. Recycling issues "I feel like Plumas County, through inaction, is making it really difficult for our citi- zens who really want to recy- cle," Thrall said, directing her statement to the disposal representatives. "We have people who want to do this, and we are making it hard for them to do it." Kennedy emphasized the point. "I hope that more emphasis is put on a countywide effort for recycling," he said. "Not only because we should, but because there's a state man- date that started in 1990." Simpson singled out Waste Management, which posted a 17 percent profit in 2010. "Waste Management ... where do those profits go? You made $180,000. What do you guys do with that?" she said. "What we want to do with that, is we want to bring a curbside recycling program in- to Plumas County," Martinelli said, insisting that his compa- ny actually made $131,000. "We have assets that we are going to be able to deploy here, effec- tive Jan. 1, 2012, that we can put a program in place. "And it's maybe not going to cost anybody anything be- cause we can absorb it in the current rate structure. Now, I don't know how that isn't a win for Plumas County. "I think we need to sit down and come up with a plan that you folks want to see and im- pose upon (InterMountain Disposal) and us to put it in place for you. We are a service provider. That is what we are supposed to be doing for you." Students in Free Enterprise place in top eight Feather River College's Students in Free Enterprise team placed in the top eight nationally in the annual competition in Minneapolis, Minn., its highest-ever finish. From left: adviser Amy Schulz, Octavio Flores, Shelbie Mathis, Anthony Woller, McKinly Goodman, Travis Bagley and Gina Rangel. Photo courtesy Amy Schulz The FRC team competed against Oregon State Universi- ty, Valdosta State University, BYU Hawaii and Texas State University, San Marcos in the semifinals to finish as first Feather River College Stu- dents in Free Enterprise (SIFE) turned in their best performance ever at the SIFE USA National Exposition May 10 - 12, in Minneapolis, Minn. runner-up behind Texas State. The FRC team also won sec- ond place for Best Legacy Pro- ject. This category is for pro- jects in existence five-plus years. FRC students won for the Independent Living Program: Mentoring Foster Youth, a part- nership with Plumas County In- dependent Living Program. SIFE students have men- tared Plumas County fostered youth and hosted workshops to teach success skills for the last seven years. Plumas County's foster youth college transfer rates of 65 percent are significantly higher than the state average of 20 percent. Many in the pro- gram go on to attend FRC, cit- ing familiarity and comfort with the campus because of the experience provided by SIFE. FRC SIFE adviser Amy Schulz won the Jack Kahl En- trepreneurial Leadership Award of Faculty Advisor of the Year. Students and alumni nominated Schulz for the award in a national competition. The award comes with an all-expenses-paid trip to the SIFE Global World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October. FRC SIFE emphasized three target populations in projects throughout the year, which were foster youth, first-gener- ation college students and the small business community. Projects targeting first-gen- eration college students in- cluded Student Orientation Activities for Retention (SOAR) Week, FRC Night on Main Street, credit and bud- geting workshoPs and studeiat life involvement through new club mentorship. Nearly 90 percent of FRC students are first-generation college students, and that brings its own set of chal- lenges to college success. By facilitating peer-to-peer mod- els and tackling "first-genera- tion" issues, students are more likely to graduate and be more qualified for the mod- ern workforce. In the pro- gram's first year, student re- tention increased 6 percent. In April last year, SIFE host- ed a Community Collaboration Day with community leaders to identify projects for the 2010-11 academic year. Assist- ing the small business commu- nity was a high priority. SIFE implemented its Shoestring Marketing Plan project. Working with the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, Lake Almanor Chamber of Com- merce and the Eastern Plumas Chamber of Com- merce, SIFE assembled 250 op- timized websites and added features, such as document- ing green business practices and integrated social media into marketing plans. Sales Tax E-File Individual * Business * Non-Profit Bookkeeping • Payroll • Notary • Taxes Mary Cheek, F.A, CPA Certified PublicAccountant Licensed to practice by the IRS 258-1040 130 Willow St., Chester (Next to Chevron) MaryCheekCPA@FronUerNet.Net Over 18 years experien, Dr. Grosse gave us back the life we love! Your diagnosis and treatment is important. That's why we give you the information in terms you can understand. ?! .... I  Stephen P. Grosse, D.C. .. Quincy Chiropractic 2254 E. 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