HomeMy Public PortalAboutMcCall, Idaho: Public Works - RecyclingThe Star-News 6/28/2007
Recycling group looks
to offer more services
City, county funds sought to build new
collection facility in McCall
BY TECLA MARKOSKY
The Star-News
To most people, the former gravel pit along Deinhard Lane
in McCall looks like a wasteland, but for Esther Mulnick and
Mary Hart, it's a plot teeming with opportunity.
Mulnick and Hart are members
of Recycling Partners, a group that
is working to broaden the capacity
of recycling in McCall.
The group's efforts received
a kick -start last month when it
received $44,000 in McCall local
option tax funds. They hope to use
the money to build a new recycling
facility that will accept more items
than the current center on Jacob
Street, which is owned by Valley
County and operated by Lakeshore
Disposal.
The current collection station
accepts cardboard, tin, aluminum
and newspapers. The proposed fa-
cility also would be able to accept
most plastics, magazines, office
paper, junk mail and glass.
Recycling Partners is composed
of individuals, businesses and Mc-
Call and Valley County officials.
The proposed facility is modeled on
the privately operated Heartland
Recyclers in New Meadows and
would serve all citizens of Valley
County and its visitors.
"It's way overdue," Mulnick
said. "Through it, we'll contribute
to the environment by recycling
and reusing.
The site chosen by Recycling Partners is 10 acres of county -
owned land next to the Valley County Courthouse Annex, which
is also the site of a proposed affordable housing project by the
Valley Adams Regional Housing Authority.
See RECYCLE, Page A -11
Recycle
(Continued from Page A -1)
Recycling Partners will ask
Valley County commissioners
to budget $44,000 next year in
matching funds to complete con -
struction of the facility, which
would be targeted to open next
summer.
As now planned, the new
center would consist of a large
drive - through building that
would allow two or three cars
to park briefly inside while
unloading. Currently, there
is no curbside pickup service
planned.
..................................................
ty would take over operation of
the center and be responsible for
hauling the recyclable materials
to processors in Boise. The cur-
rent center on Jacob Street would
be shut down.
Glass would not be taken from
the area, but given to the county
and thenlocal asphalt companies,
which will crush the glass and
mix it 15 percent with rock to
make asphalt.
"There is so much support
from the community on this,"
Mulnick said. "Businesses and
individuals are so thrilled to help
move this through. This is just
the beginning."
Star-News Photo by Tecla Markosky
Esther Mulnick of McCall
examines two drink bottles
at the recycling center
in McCall. The planned
expanded McCall recycling
collection center will be
able to process plastics such
as drink bottles.
The Star-News 10/4/2007
Valley Co., Lake
Shore to meet
over recycling
complaints
Citizens group suspects recycled
materials are going to landfills;
contractor says there have been
problems but pledges to solve them
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Sw -News
Valley County commissioners will meet with
Lake Shore Disposal's local manager on Tuesday
to discuss accusations that materials intended to
be recycled were going to landfills.
Commissioners will ask Lake Shore site
manager Adam Johnson Tuesday to discuss the
allegations made by Recycle Partners, a citizens
group working to expand recycling facilities in
Valley County.
Recycle Partner members Mary Hart, Ester
Mulnick and Susan Bechdel delivered a letter to
commissioners last month that included photos
that showed large amounts of recyclable card-
board and newspaper being loaded into trash
trucks.
"We believe, based on the attached photos,
the present program does not recycle some of
the cardboard and newspaper which appears to
be contaminated and going to the landfill," the
letter said.
"Sadly, Recycle Partners feel we have been
misled along with all Valley County recyclers
and taxpayers, regarding the existing recycling
program in Valley County," the letter said.
Johnson admits there have been problems this
year, but that no cardboard or newspaperhas been
sent to landfills.
.He.se d -he is committed to red yeling-in' the
community and his business has experienced
mechanical problems with 'the baling equip-
ment at the county's new East Lake Fork Road
transfer site.
See RECYCLING, Page A-11
Recycling
(Continued from Page A -1)
Catching Up With Backlog
Recently, the baler has been
operating and catching up on
about a year's worth of recyclable
materials.
The materials are currently
shipped to Pacific Steel in Boise,
which pays the county four cents
per pound of cardboard and about a
penny for a pound of newspaper.
"We want the guarantee that re-
cyclables are being recycled," Hart
said at a commissioners' meeting
last week.
Currently, Lake Shore Disposal
recycles cardboard, newspaper,
aluminum, tin and bulk metals
for the county. The revenue from
the recycled materials is paid to
the county.
The Recycle Partners letter also
questioned the mess at the McCall
recycling facility at the end of
Jacob Street.
Johnson's staff of 30 handles
trash in Valley, Adams and parts
of Washington counties. The staff
does not work on the weekends
when the bulk of recycling materi-
als show up at the McCall facility.
The site is cleared of all recycled
materials every Monday and Fri-
day, Johnson said.
The only times Monday pickups
do not occur are on holiday week-
ends, he said.
Several of the photos from Re-
cycle Partners were taken on the
Wednesday after the Labor Day
weekend.
Johnson said his staff was run-
ning one extra day behind that week
and later picked up the materials
at the McCall facility that is also
owned by the county.
"A lot of the overflow in McCall
comes from vendors who don't
break down their boxes so other
people can't put their stuff in,"
Johnson said. "So people set their
stuff in front."
Public's Help Needed
He would like residents who
use the facility to break down
cardboard boxes so that there is
room for others who come to the
facility on weekends to deposit
their recyclable materials.
The facility does not accept
trash, but some residents have also
dumped trash at the facility.
On Monday, Johnson will meet
with commissioner Frank Eld
to discuss the county's recycling
program. On Tuesday, the meeting
with the commissioners should
clear the air, he said.
Due to contract negotiations
withthe county, Johnson wouldnot
discuss if or when Lake Shore Dis-
posal would have plastic and glass
s4,.
/°)IJO -1
bins available to allow residents to
recycle those materials.
Recycling is the future," John-
son said. "I love this community
and plan on being a part of it for
a long time."
During last week's meeting,
commissioners expressed their
displeasure with the situation
presented to them by Recycle
Partners.
"I am sorely disappointed in
what we are seeing," Eld said.
Commissioner Jerry Winkle
suggested the commission should
discuss possible proposals for anew
recycling contract.
"I am fully disappointed in what
is happening up there," Winkle
said. "That shouldn't happen in
Valley County."
Commissioner Gordon Cruick-
shank had suDnorted Lake Shore.
The Star-News 10/11/2007
Lake Shore
promises
recycling
expansion
More bins on order will broaden
types of items accepted by year -end
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
The manager of Lake Shore Disposal promised
Valley County officials on Tuesday his company
would step up efforts to expand recycling.
Lake Shore Disposal site manager Adam
Johnson.asked Valley County commissioners
permission to purchase four additional recycling
bins.
The bins will be used to collect plastic, glass
and office paper and should be in operation before
the end of the year.
Johnson noted the problems his company has
had using a county -owned baler that had been
broken for about a year before recently coming
back into service.
He promised the commissioners the backlog of
recyclable materials is being processed.
Recycle Partners, a citizens' group in McCall,
wentbefore commissioners last month to complain
Lake Shore Disposal was not recycling materials,
but instead dumping the materials in a landfill.
Johnson said no recyclable materials were be-
ing dumped in a landfill.
"I've heard these promises before," commis-
sioner Jerry Winkle said. "I do not think you are
meeting your contract."
Johnson also said that his employees have been
separating trash out of the recycle bins, which
is not within the scope of the contract with the
county.
"Just so we understand, non - polluted, non-
mixed bins will be recycled," he said. "When
bins are mixed and, or polluted we will not sort
them."
Sorting out Trash
Commissioner Frank Eld agreed Lake Shore
employees should not be sorting trash out of re-
cycle bins. He emphasized that the public needs to
only place the recyclable materials in the proper
bins and not throw in other trash.
See RECYLCING, Page A -12
♦ Site still being sought for McCall
recycling center - PageA -12
Recycling
(Continued from Page A -1)
Eld wanted the company to
track the volume of each of the
recyclable materials. Johnson
agreed the company would
provide volume reports on each
recyclable material. w
Currently, cardboard, news-
paper, tin and aluminum cans
are recycled in Valley County. By
the end of the year, the county
will also provide residents the
option to recycle plastic, office
paper and glass.
All the materials, with the
exception of glass, will be taken
to a recycling center in the Boise
area. The glass will be taken by
the county and will be used by
the county road department in
its asphalt mix.
Commissioner Gordon Cruick-
shank asked Recycle Partners if
they would be willing to help
Lake Shore with the recycling
program.
"We will not help Lake Shore,"
Esther Mulnick of Recycle Part-
ners said.
Mary Hart of Recycle Partners
wanted Lake Shore to be placed
on aprobationary term so that the
program is accountable.
"We want to make sure Lake
Shore is recycling," Hart said.
"They will all be recycled,"
Johnsonsaid. "Wehaven'tthrown
the stuff away."
Lake Shore has no incentive
to dump recyclables in a landfill,
said Don Allen of Waste Connec-
tions, the Twin Falls company
that owns Lake Shore Disposal.
Hauling recyclables to a recy-
cling centerpays for the program,
Allen said. If the company
dumpedthematerials in alandfill,
it would not make money from the
recyclable materials, he said.
Johnson said he has provided
Eld with rece ipts for the materials
the company has recycled.
Winkle said the county would
be watching the operation closely,
but a probation period is not
needed due to a contract the
county has with Lake Shore.
"They will be observed very
closely," Winkle said. "I hope we
can move forward."
S446"
,UI „fo-7
Johnson also asked the coun-
ty commissioners for the East
Lake Fork Road baling site to be
graded and paved.
He also said the county should
plan to construct a building so
that recyclables can be stored
inside, instead of outside in the
weather.
Allen also told commission-
ers the recycling stations in the
county would eventually have
to have employees present to
limit the amount of trash being
dumped into the bins.
The Star-News 10/11/2007
Site still being sought for
McCall recycling center
Aplan to build anew recycling
center in McCall is still in search
of a site.
The McCall group Recycle Part-
ners, a local citizens group has a
tentative commitmentfrom Valley
County to build the new center on
10 acres of county -owned land on
East Deinhard Lane.
However, county officials
would rather use all 10 acres for
a proposed affordable housing
project and hopes an alternate
site can be found for the center.
Valley County commission-
ers have pledged $50,000 for the
project, and the city of McCall has
given $44,000 in local-option taxes.
Donations raised by Recycle Part-
ners have added $6,000.
Recycle Partners has also ap-
plied for a Case Foundation grant
that could yield additional funds
up to $35,000.
McCall City Council member
Don Bailey has suggested the
facility be located on the city's
wastewater treatment property
along West Deinhard Lane in
McCall.
City engineers have been
tasked to see if the facility would
work at the site, or if it would
hamper future growth of the
wastewater treatment facility.
Plans for a new wastewater
treatmentfacility will take up less
space than the current facility,
Bailey said.
The city's engineer is now
making sure that the building
can be located on the property
without it being built above sewer
pipes, he said.
"Within a couple of weeks or
a month, we can make a decision
if we can put it there," Bailey
said. "If it works out, it would
be a great place. There could be
something that comes up, but I
don't anticipate that."
"If that doesn'tpan out, maybe
something else might work,"
Esther Mulnick of Recycle Part-
ners said.
The idea to replace the cur-
rent facility began more than a
year ago.
"The old one is a shack,
Mulnick said. "It's just not big
enough. It doesn't work."
Mary Hart of Recycle Partners
would like to see the new facility
built by next fall.
"Somuch depends onthe site,"
Hart said.
The Star-News 11/21/2007 page 1 of 2
THE STATE OF OUR TRASH
Collection company moves to expand recycling
Star-News Photo by Michael Wells
Gumer Cindo of Lake Shore Disposal loads cardboard boxes into the recyclable
materials baler at the Lake Fork transfer site located on Fast Lake Fork Road.
Lake Shore Disposal
readies new site to help
residents sort refuse
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star-News
McCall residents may soon be unloading their
recyclable materials at a new site located on
Industrial Loop next to Lake Shore Disposal.
Themove requires approval by Valley County
Board of County Commissioners. The county
holds the contract with Lake Shore Disposal.
Currently, McCall residents use the facility on
Jacob Street.
If the move happens, it will allow Lake Shore
to monitor residents as they discard their recy-
clable materials.
Residents have been depositing recyclable
materials and trash in the wrong bins, and site
manager Adam Johnson told county commis-
sioners last month that the company would no
longer accept mixed recyclable materials as the
contract with the county states.
If approved, signs will be posted with di-
rections to the new facility with a telephone
number for residents to call for directions,
Johnson said.
The move could be a temporary move if the
McCall City Council and the board of commis-
sioners agree on a permanent site for a recycle
center in McCall.
Possible locations for a future center are at
the city's wastewater treatment plant property
on West Deinhard Lane nor one acre of land
the county owns on Eft Deinhard Lane in
McCall.
Lake Shore Disposal has received one new
recycling bin, and two more have been ordered.
They will be distributed to three collection
sites in the county at Cascade, Donnelly and
McCall.
"We're moving in the right direction in the
county," Johnson said. "It's what the people
want, and that's a good thing."
A
r
Star -News Photo by Michael Wells
Gumer Cindo of Lake Shore Disposal loads cardboard boxes into the recyclable
materials baler at the Lake Fork transfer site located on Fast Lake Fork Road.
Lake Shore Disposal
readies new site to help
residents sort refuse
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
McCall residents may soon be unloading their
recyclable materials at a new site located on
Industrial Loop next to Lake Shore Disposal.
Themove requires approval by Valley County
Board of County Commissioners. The county
holds the contract with Lake Shore Disposal.
Currently, McCall residents use the facility on
Jacob Street.
If the move happens, it will allow Lake Shore
to monitor residents as they discard their recy-
clable materials.
Residents have been depositing recyclable
materials and trash in the wrong bins, and site
manager Adam Johnson told county commis-
sioners last month that the company would no
longer accept mixed recyclable materials as the
contract with the county states.
If approved, signs will be posted with di-
rections to the new facility with a telephone
number for residents to call for directions,
Johnson said.
The move could be a temporary move if the
McCall City Council and the board of commis-
sioners agree on a permanent site for a recycle
center in McCall.
Possible locations for a future center are at
the city's wastewater treatment plant property
on West Deinhard Lane nor one acre of land
the county owns on Eft Deinhard Lane in
McCall.
Lake Shore Disposal has received one new
recycling bin, and two more have been ordered.
They will be distributed to three collection
sites in the county at Cascade, Donnelly and
McCall.
"We're moving in the right direction in the
county," Johnson said. "It's what the people
want, and that's a good thing."
The Star-News PAGE 2 OF 2
Repair of baler means
cleanup of Lake Fork site
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Lake Shore Disposal is catching
up on recycling materials from the
county now that a baler is up and
running at Valley County's Lake
Fork transfer facility.
The facility currently handles
cardboard, newspaper, tin and
aluminum. Inthe future, the county
recycle program will recycle plastic,
glass, office paper and magazines as
well, site manager Adam Johnson
said.
The site had become an eye sore
on East Lake Fork Road this sum-
mer due to a county -owned baler
that was not operating properly.
The piles of recyclable materials
caused Recycle Partners, a McCall
citizens group, to complain to
Valley County commissioners in
September and October that Lake
Shore Disposal was not recycling
materials that residents wanted
recycled.
The group believed thatthe com-
pany was dumping the recyclable
materials in a landfill. Lake Shore
Disposal had been stockpiling the
materials for when the baler could
be fixed, which is why the facility
had large amounts of various recy-
clable materials piled up outside,
Johnson said.
Lake Shore Disposal was told
by commissioners to clean up the
facility and to add plastic and glass
to the recycling program.
"We will do whatever the people
want us to do," Johnson said. "We
only require approval from the
county commissioners."
The site, located on East Lake
Fork Road, now has bins holding
various sorted materials. Before
the cleanup, there were piles of
tin and aluminum. Newspaper
and cardboard were also outside
exposed to the weather.
The company delivered 69 tons
of cardboard in October to a Boise
area recycling facility, Johnson
said. In September, the company
baled 94 tons of cardboard.
It could only bale 35 tons in
August and 25 tons in July due to
problems with the baler.
Lake Shore also shipped 12 tons
of newspaper in October. In Novem-
ber, the company shipped 2.2 tons
of aluminum and tin.
The company is paid for the
recyclable materials it transports
to recycling facilities and is paid
the market rate for each ton. The
money is usedto payforthe county's
recycling program.
Responding to Complaints
Recycle Partners, a local citizens group, had
recently made several complaints to the county
commissioners about the recycle program in
McCall.
Most of the problems stemmed from a county -
owned baler machine at the county's East Lake
Fork Road site that did not operate properly for
most of the year.
The new bins will take aluminum, tin and
glass. The old bins will be used to collect card-
board, newspaper and magazines, office paper
and plastic once the full recycle program is up
and running. Currently, the county recycles
cardboard, newspaper, aluminum and tin.
Recyclable materials, except glass, are taken
first to the county -owned facility in Lake Fork;
from there they are baled and shipped to recy-
cling companies in Boise who buy the materials
from Lake Shore Disposal.
Glass will be used by the Valley County Road
Department for use in its asphalt mix.
The money from recycled materials pays for
the recycling program in the county, Johnson
said.
Lake Shore Disposal hauls trash in Valley,
Adams and parts of Washington counties. Its 31
employees serve about 7,800 residential custom-
ers and 400 commercial customers.
The company charges customers in McCall
$14.27 per month to haul trash from the curb to
the county's transfer site located in the county
southeast of McCall on Spink Lane. County
residents are charged $14.93 per month for the
service.
Trash: Collection company
moves to expand recycling
(Continued from Page A -1)
Cascade and Donnelly charge
their residents a fee for trash
service and send Lake Shore Dis-
posal a check each month.
In Cascade, residents pay
$9.59 per month if they use their
own trash cans or $11.99 if they
use a Lake Shore Disposal cart.
Donnelly residents pay $8 per
month, though an increase to
$8.56 is planned.
The trash is then hauled to
Idaho Waste Systems in Elmore
County as is stipulated in the
Valley County contract.
Lake Shore is paid $26.44 per
ton to haul the trash in 48 -foot
trailers. Each trip to the Elmore
County regional landfill takes
about eighthours to travelthe 350-
mile round trip, Johnson said.
Valley County paid Lake Shore
$1.13 million during the fiscal
year that ended Sept. 30.
Valley County can terminate
the contract with Lake Shore Dis-
posal if the contractor is found in
default of the agreement.
If Lake Shore fails to collect
trash for residential pickup
schedules, then the county would
notify Lake Shore that it is in
default of its contract.
The contract could then be
terminated by the county within
30 days of notification if the
company fails to resume service
or "take all steps reasonably
necessary to address the con-
sequences to its customers and
the county."
Residents in Adams County,
which has its own landfill eight
milessouthof Council,pay$13.29,
in the cities and $13.87 in the
county each month for collection
Service.
See TRASH, Page A-13
Lakeshore Disposal expands recycling
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
LakeshoreDisposal has installedthree
new recycling bins in Valley County
that will expand the kinds of recyclable
materials the county can accept.
The recycling program now accepts
glass, plastics, magazines, newspaper,
office paper, cardboard, tin, aluminum
and brown paper grocery bags.
In McCall, the new bin is located
on Jacob Street. In Donnelly, the bin
is located across West Roseberry Road
from the Donnelly Fire Department. In
Cascade, the bin is located at the corner
of Front and Mill streets.
"Recycling is something that a lot of peo-
ple want, but it has to be convenient," Valley
County commission Chair Jerry Winkle
said. "We wanted these new bins."
The bins, which cost $8,000 each, were
put in place Friday, and the McCall bins
quickly filled, Lakeshore Disposal site
manager Adam Johnson said.
"It is a great thing for McCall and all
of Valley County," Johnson said.
Brightly colored office paper is still
not accepted as a recyclable material,
Johnson said.
Magazines should be placed in the
newspaper bins and brown paper grocery
bags should be placed in the cardboard
bins, he said.
Johnson said that recyclers should
also remove their recyclable materials
from any plastic bags that were used to
transport the recyclable materials. The
plastic bags should then be placed in the
plastics bin.
During the holiday season, Lakeshore
has added an extra 30 cubic -yard bin at
the McCall site to collect extraboxes from
Christmas gifts.
Valley
County
commission
Chair Jerry
Winkle
examines one
of the new
recycling
bins
installed by
Lakeshore
Disposal at
the Cascade
recycling
center.
star -News Photo
by Michael Wells
The Star-News 3/27/2008
Citizens group wants Lake Shore removed from recycling
Recycle Partners cites neglect;
Lake Shore blames weather,
contamination
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
A citizens group asked Valley County com-
missioners on Monday to take away the county's
recycling program from Lake Shore Disposal due
to continued problems.
Recycle Partners of McCall asked the com-
Recycling
Citizens group wants
Lake Shore removed from
recycling
(Continued from Page A -1)
Johnson also saidheavy snows
prevented recycling loads from be-
ing transported to recycling centers
in January and February due to
access problems at the Lake Fork
processing center.
On Saturday, the company
transported a load of cardboard to
Pacific Recycling in Boise. A load of
newspapers also was transported to
the Pacific operation in Nampa in
December, he said.
Johnson told the commission-
ers that 70 percent of the recycling
bins were contaminated with other
trash, from tires to beer bottles.
"We have to monitor them bet-
ter," he said.
Recycling materials that include
cardboard, newspaper, aluminum,
tin, plastic, office paper and glass
are being stored and will be trans-
ported to recycling centers in the
Boise area, he said.
missioners to break the contract because of
recycling materials that were dumped in a landfill
in Mountain Home.
Lake Shore Site Manager Adam Johnson told
commissioners eight loads of recycling materials
were contaminated with trash.
That meant they had to be dumped in the
landfill rather than shipped to recycling centers
in the Boise area.
A motorcycle was dumped in the McCall recy-
cling bin marked for cardboard. The cardboard was
later recycled, but other loads were contaminated
with trash, Johnson said.
See RECYCLING, Page A -10
`System is Broken'
"You as county commissioners
can choose to continue to honor
your contract with Lake Shore,
regardless of the fact that they
are not in anyway doing the job,
Mary Hart of Recycle Partners
said.
"You as county commission-
ers along with Lake Shore can
continue to deceive the public
into thinking that recycling is
taking place when it is not," Hart
said. "We will no longer be part
of a system that is broken; we
will no longer tolerate lies and
deception."
Hart told the commissioners
that Recycle Partners is close to
acquiring a site for a recycling
center in McCall.
The group has had road
construction, excavation and
architectural design work do-
nated.
Funding received so far
includes $44,000 in McCall local -
optiontaxmoney, $6,000 inprivate
donations, and a pledge of $50,000
from the county.
The citizens group wants
commissioners to terminate
Lake Shore's recycling contract
and have the county hire an em-
ployee to oversee the recycling
program.
"Wemustknowif wewillhave
a functioning recycling program
by April in order for us to pursue
the new site," Hart said.
Recycle Partners could have
the new center built by the late
ag
fall, she said. ?/2--7/0 g
The county commissioners
informed Hart that they would
discuss the county's options at
the April 14 meeting, which was
satisfactory to Hart.
"We've got to look at all the
options before we see what we
can do," Commissioner Gordon
Cruickshank said.
The commissioners directed
Valley County Prosecuting At-
torney Matt Williams to review
the contract with Lake Shore
Disposal.
I'm seeing the citizens of
Valley County going out of their
way to get this recycling program
on the road to success," Commis-
sioner Jerry Winkle said.
"I also see Lake Shore is do-
ing nothing to assist them or to
enhance the recycling," Winkle
said.
Commissioner Frank Eld
disagreed that Lake Shore had
done nothing.
Eld credited the company for
acquiring last fall new recycling
bins to accept more materials
that are recyclable, although he
was otherwise unhappy with the
results.
"We've got some real gaps
in getting it actually recycled,"
Eld said.
The Star-News 6/12/2008
Recycling group wants
Valley County to pitch
In another $117,000
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Recycle Partners asked th
Valley County Board of Commis
sioners Mondayfor $117,000 more
to Help build a planned recycling
center in McCall.
The group also wants the
county to staff the recycling
center with up to two county
employees.
Recycle Partners wants to
build a recycling center in
McCall, similar to the recycling
center in New Meadows oper-
ated by the nonprofit Heartland
Recyclers.
The proposal asked the
county for $60,000 for completing
the construction of the build-
ing, $30,000 for pavement and
a fence and $27,000 for a skid
steer or fork lift. The money is
in addition to $50,000 the county
already pledged to the project
last year.
The project also received.
$44,000 in McCall Local Option
Tax money and $6,000 in private
donations. Recycle Partners is
also asking the McCall LOT Com-
mission for money to purchase
a state -of -the -art baler for the
center.
"It's pretty spendy," Commis-
sion Chair Jerry Winkle said. He
Proposed a workshop to discuss
the proposal further.
The commissioners agreed
that the proposal be hashed out
at a workshop on June 25 at 2 p.m.
at the courthouse.
The city of McCall has in-
formally identified a piece of
ground in the northwest corner
of the wastewater plant for the
e recycling center City Manager
Lindley Kirkpatrick said.
The land is east of the Lake
Shore Disposal property on
Industrial Loop. The city would
lease the land for $1 per year, ac-
cording to the proposal before the
commissioners.
The plan is to build a 6,000 -
square -foot steel building.
Construction would begin in
August and be completed in
November if everything falls
into place.
Once the building is built,
Recycle Partners would transfer
the ownership of the center to
Valley County.
The center would be open
seven days a week from 10 a.m. to
7 p.m. or no less than five days a
week for the same hours, accord-
ing to the plan.
Lake Shore Disposal would
transport recycling materials col-
lected in Cascade and Donnelly to
the center in McCall.
Lake Shore Disposal Site
Manager Adam Johnson was on
hand for Monday's presentation
and helped develop some of the
plan.
Glass-would be transported to
the county road department site
on East Lake Fork Road for use in
the county's asphalt mix.
Trucks would transport the re-
cycled materials from the McCall
center to Western Recycling in
Boise. All the revenues from the
McCall recycling center would go
to the county.
The Star-News 3/26/2009
Lake Shore owners bring in new team
New manager, other
employees will try to
improve recycling
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
The parent company of
Lake Shore Disposal in Valley
County has brought in a new
management team to meet the
expectations of Valley County
commissioners, especially
over recycling.
The new site manager for
the Valley County operation
is Everette Arter, 44, formerly
from Ontario, Ohio. Arter
replaces former site manager
Adam Johnson.
McCall native Thomas
Frasier has been named as
the operations supervisor, a
position that had been unfilled
under Johnson.
Frasier previously worked
at Les Schwab in McCall for
three years.
There is also a new office
manager and a maintenance
manager.
"We need to be a partner
(with the county commission-
ers) and not a problem," said
Chris-Carey, district manager
for Waste Connections, which.
owns Lake Shore Disposal.
"We are going in a new
direction because we are not
as good as we can be," Carey
said.
Themainproblem stemmed
from how the company han-
dled its recycling contract.
At times, recycled materi-
als had to be dumped because
people would -throw trash,
such as motorcycles, toilet
bowls or food scraps into bins
Star -News Photo by Michael Wells
Thomas Frasier, left, operations manager for Lake Shore Disposal, and Everette Arter, the new
Valley County manager for Lake Shore, stand by a recycling bin in McCall.
marked for cardboard or alu-
minum cans.
To reduce contamination,
Frasier works to check the
recycle bins at three locations
in the county to make sure the
bins are being emptied before
they are too full.
The company also plans to
improve signage at the recy-
cling drop -offs in the hope that
people will do a better job of
separating their recycled ma-
terials into the proper bins.
"We have had some growth
in recycling in the valley," Fra-
sier said. "Praise to the people
in the county that made that
happen."
Accountability is what
Carey would like to see the new
management team improve on
from the past in McCall.
Lake Shore Disposal em-
ploys 25 people at its McCall
facility located on Industrial
Loop off Boydstun Street.
Waste Connections is the
third largest waste collec-
tion company in the United
States.
The company has also
hired several new route driv-
ers from the local community,
Carey said.
Arter had worked for Waste
Connections for seven years
before leaving the company to
work for Waste Management
the last two years.
"I love Waste Connections,"
Arter said. "It's a great com-
pany."
The company operates the
county's transfer site east of
Donnelly, picks up commer-
cial and residential trash and
recycling in the county.
The Star-News 5/13/2010
NEW McCALL RECYCLING CENTER MOVES FORWARD, STILL LACKS ACCESS
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star-News
Access to the proposed new site of
the Valley County recycling center
in McCall is still up in the air, but
that did not stop the McCall Axea
Planning & Zoning Commission
from passing on a recommendation
Tuesday night.
The P &Z reviewed the plans by
Recycle Partners to relocate the center
from its current location on Jacob
Street and recommended its approval
to the McCall City Council.
The group wants to build an 8,000 -
square- foot drive- through recycling
facility at the east end of Industrial
Loop near the McCall Wastewater
Treatment Plant.
The two -acre lot already has ac-
cess through city property but that
would require a more expensive road
to be built, project architect Claire
Remsberg said.
Better access would be through a
30- foot -long piece of land owned by
Vernon Grotjohn of McCall.
Negotiations with Grotjohn for
an easement through his land were
expected by the end of April, but
those negotiations have not yet been
completed, McCall Planner Bradley
Kraushaar told commissioners.
The city expects the access deal
to come soon, Kraushaar said.
See RECYCLING, Page A-2
Recycling
(Continued from Page A -1)
"We feel pretty darn confi-
dent that we will have access
to that property," he said.
Recycle partners has re-
ceived $50,000 in McCall
Local Option Tax funding
and $50,000 from Valley
County for the project.
The proposed location,
next to Lake Shore Disposal's
yard, would save the com-
pany transportation costs
in processing the glass,
cardboard, tin, aluminum,
plastic and paper left at the
recycling center.
If access can be gained
from Industrial Loop, _
the construction of the
building's outer shell and
drive - through area could
be ready by the end of this
construction season, Recy-
cling Partners spokesperson
Mary Hart said. The baling
section and office space could
be completed next year, Hart
said.
Customers would drivE
into a covered bay with-
multiple marked bins foi
recycling materials anc
drive out the other end of
the building.
The drive - through area
would not be heated, but the
section with the baler and
office would be heated and
insulated.
The Star-News 3/24/2011
Lakeshore
wants to make
recycling
mandatory
Valley commissioners cool to
costs of curbside pickups
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Lakeshore Disposal wants the county to
impose mandatory curbside recycling for
about 3,500 residents in Valley County.
The proposal was made Monday to
Valley County commissioners, who were
reluctant to sign onto the proposal.
Lakeshore's McCall Site Manager Ev-
erette Arter and Division Vice - President
Jeff Brewster proposed making recycling
mandatory for all citizens in McCall, Don-
nelly and Cascade plus residents of larger
subdivisions along Idaho 55.
The proposal would end separation of
recyclable materialsandrecyclingof glass
and some plastics. Each customer would
receive a 96- gallon recycling cart that
would be picked up every two weeks.
Weekly trash service would remain the
same under the proposal, Arter said.
"There is a heightened interest in
curbside recycling," he said.
New $5.50 Monthly Fee
As part of the new service, residents
would be charged an additional $5.50 per
month.
It almost has to be mandatory for it to
work," Arter said.
"If you give them the cart, they will
use it," Brewster said, notingparticipation
is up to 80 percent in Twin Falls, where
the company rolled out the program in
January.
The proposal would save the county the
cost of hauling about 53 tons in trash that
would otherwise be transported to landfills
in Elmore County, Brewster said. He did
not have figures on proposed savings.
The county would receive about $262
per year in recycling revenue, Brewster
said.
Commissioners Ray Moore and Gordon
Cruickshank said they were against a
mandatory program without seeing the
cost savings to the county.
They directed Arter and Brewster to
produce those figures at the commission-
er's April 4 meeting.
"I'm pretty reluctant, in this economy,
to force what is essentially a tax," Moore
said.
See RECYCLE, Page A -2
Recycle
(Cont'nued from Page A -1)
"I would have liked to
have seen last year's num-
bers," Cruickshank said. "If
it was a wash then I think we
would feel good about it."
Carts Proposed for
Recycling
The proposal would stop
the current practice of sepa-
rating materials and allow
residents to put many recycla-
ble materials into their cart
for curbside pickup except
glass and some plastics.
Currently, glass is collect-
ed at the company's recycling
bins andtaken by the county's
road and bridge department
to a crusher in Lake Fork to
be used as road fill on county
roads.
A second proposal brought
to commissioners on Monday
would keep trash service as it
is and would only change the
amount Lakeshore charges
the countyfor recycling mate-
rials placed in bins in McCall,
Donnelly and Cascade.
The county would be
charged three times more
for the same service, up from
$2,130 per year the county
pays now for Lakeshore to
handle its recycled materials
to $6,500 per year under the
new proposal.
The second proposal did
not interest Moore or Cruick-
shank. Commissioner Jerry
Winkle was absent from
Monday's meeting.
�I�N1N
Sd��a
The Star-News 3/17/2011
NEW McCALL RECYCLING
CENTER PUT ON HOLD
County says more money needed;
$44,000 in LOT funds returned
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
The building a of a new recycling center in
McCallhas beenputon hold after Valley County
officials said there was not enough money to
start construction this year.
The delay means $44,000 in McCall Local
Option Tax funds slated for the project have
been returned to the city.
The proposal would have provided a per-
manent home for the center, which is now in
a temporary location near the Valley County
Courthouse Annex on Deinhard Lane.
The citizens group Recycle Partners ob-
tained $44,000 in LOT funds in 2008 for the new
recycling center, which would be built on land
ownedby the city near its wastewatertreatment
plant on Deinhard Lane.
For the last two years, Valley County allo-
cated $50,000 for the project, bringing the total
available funds to $144,000.
Recycle Partners believed the amount was
enough to begin construction this year, but
Valley County Solid Waste Program Manager
Ralph`McKenzie told the city earlier this year
estimates for the project were between $360,000
and $420,000.
See CENTER, Page A -2
Center
(Continued from Page A -1)
The county would not begin
construction on the project
until it could be fully funded,
McKenzie told the city.
Project Scope Grew
The planned facility would
include a drop -off area, com-
mercial baler and room for
storing the bales of recycled
materials.
Recycle Partners had ar-
ranged for donated excavation
site work and landscaping
work as well as $6,000 in cash
pledges from private citizens,
Esther Mulnick of Recycle
Partners said.
Idaho Power also pledged
to give a discounted price for
thecostof buryingpowerlines
to the site, and Western Recy-
cling in Boise said it would
donate a baler, Mulnick said.
Work was also donated to
design the facility as well as
for legal work, Mulnick said.
The city donated the land and
waived design fees.
With the news of the delay,
Recycle Partners has decided
to walk away from the project
and return the $44,000 in LOT
money, Mulnick said,
"We were ready to go,"
Mulnick said. "I really hope
that they build it."
The project grew from a
drive - through drop -off site to
a much larger facility as the
county got involved, Mulnick
said.
Originally, the county was
willing toput up the outer shell
of the building and finish it
off later. Then county officials
wanted a drive - through facil-
ity with a baler and space for
the bales of recycled materi-
als.