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Cowlitz County public works reports long waits at transfer station; staff may add equipment or reopen Toutle site
Summary
Public services staff reported extended wait times for commercial trailers at the county transfer station, blamed on limited excavation capacity from the station contractor; staff said they will pursue logistics changes, consider adding equipment and may reopen the Toutle drop site if waits remain high.
Mike Moss, Cowlitz County Public Services Director, told the Board of County Commissioners that staff observed significant variability in commercial trailer processing times at the county transfer station and are pursuing operational fixes.
Moss said county staff conducted multiple morning observations, including a 45-minute visit the previous day, and found that trailers processed during the 7:30–9:30 a.m. commercial window generally moved faster. "If you're not there in the great 07:30 to 09:30 window, you are gonna wait additional time," Moss said. He described an apparent bottleneck: the contractor appears to be using a single excavator to service both ends of the facility, which caused material to pile up at the south end and created hour-long waits when the machine moved away from that location.
Why it matters: the transfer station is a routine county service relied on by commercial haulers and businesses; persistent long waits increase operational costs and can shift traffic to other sites. Moss said staff have discussed logistics with the station contractor, including the possibility of adding a second excavator or a smaller machine to keep debris flowing at the south end and reduce trailer queue times.
Moss also reported staff visited the Toutle transfer/drop site as an alternative. He said the county could reopen the Toutle drop box on a weekly or daily basis for commercial trailers if delays at the main station continue. "If they continue at the pace of hour plus, we'll have to revisit the opportunity of opening up the Toutle transfer station or Toutle drop box, weekly or daily for commercial trailers," Moss said.
Board direction and next steps: Moss asked for time to monitor operations and return with a recommendation. He asked the board to give staff another week or two to assess whether the wait-time improvements persist before pursuing reopening the Toutle site or making equipment changes. No formal vote or contract change was taken at the meeting.
Additional context: Moss said the county will press the contractor on on-site logistics and that adding a second excavator or smaller pushing equipment is one practical option under consideration to reduce trailer dwell time. He characterized the issue as operational (contractor staging and equipment deployment) rather than a change in county policy or waste flow requirements.
Ending note: Staff will continue daily observations, coordinate with the contractor, and bring a recommendation back to the board after the monitoring period.
