At its Sept. 16 meeting, the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority’s director, Ted Ward, summarized ongoing operations at the Del Norte, Gaski and Klamath transfer stations and highlighted services and planned improvements.

Ward said the authority operates the three transfer stations and provides required monitoring and reporting “without any financial support from the city of Crescent City or the county of Del Norte” and that per-ton rates at authority-managed facilities remain generally lower than comparable charges in Humboldt and Curry counties. He reminded residents that the authority accepts common household hazardous wastes every day and said its annual collection event will be Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Del Norte County Transfer Station; commercial businesses must call for an appointment (916-351-0980) for a separate collection date.

Ward encouraged residents to use daily hazardous-waste drop-off for paints and solvents rather than waiting for the event, saying the event is the most expensive handling option (approximately $75–$150 per vehicle to process through the event, Ward said). He advised residents seeking shorter wait times to arrive between about 10 a.m. and noon during the Sept. 27 event.

Operations updates included a planned scale recertification on Sept. 24 coordinated with county weights and measures and recent discussions with contractors (Dave Mason and Andrew Butcher) to develop four options for increased security at the Del Norte County Transfer Station: a status-quo option and three additional, progressively more secure (and costly) alternatives to return for board consideration.

Ward said staff upgraded phones at Gaski and Klamath to improve coverage for the single-operator facilities; he confirmed there is text coverage in Klamath but that the Klamath transfer station sits in a hollow with otherwise spotty signal. He said land lines and utility runs were not feasible at the remote sites because of long run costs. Ward also said the authority is searching for outside legal counsel after longtime counsel Bob Black announced his impending retirement; he emphasized the need for counsel separate from the city or county to avoid conflicts of interest.

On finances, Ward said the authority did not yet have July cash-flow numbers because county accounting moved to a new ERP system; accounts receivable are being tracked and the only account older than 90 days has been sent to collections. He said two largest recent expenses were to Hamburger WSG and Recology for transfer-station services. Ward said, two months into the fiscal year, revenue was roughly $43,000 ahead of budget, though some interfund and county charges were delayed due to the ERP transition.

The board had no further questions and thanked staff for outreach materials and meeting minutes.