County reports dramatic drop in transfer-station wait times after layout changes; residential trailer access expanded

Mike Moss, public services director, told the board Wednesday that recent physical and operational changes at the county transfer station sharply cut commercial-trailer wait times that had stretched to three to three-and-a-half hours. "We think we overcame a large hurdle there this last week," Moss said, describing the removal of a wall near the conveyor belt and a new traffic pattern that separated packer trucks from commercial trailers. The change nearly doubled floor space in the conveyor area, Moss said, and staff observed wait times fall to about 17–23 minutes after the work. “The longest I saw yesterday is, like, 23 minutes,” he said. Moss said staff made spot checks two mornings and would continue monitoring; he added that he had contacted residents who had previously complained and would report back on their feedback. Why it matters: long queue times had caused repeated citizen complaints and operational strain for commercial haulers. County staff described a three-part approach: physical reconfiguration at the transfer station, allowing residential trailers at the Toodle drop box, and permitting some North County packer trucks to haul directly to the landfill to reduce transfer-station traffic. Operational details and limits: under the new rules, residential trailers will be allowed at the Toodle drop box starting Saturday, but commercial traffic remains prohibited; payment at the Toodle drop box is handled on-site by Waste Control employees and is taken per load rather than by weight. Moss said direct hauls from Toodle to the landfill will be allowed for drop-box loads because Toodle is close to the landfill, while larger commercial accounts going to the landfill remain account-based (not cash). He added that packer trucks will use a separate ground-truck road at the landfill and will not queue at the landfill lifts, which staff said should avoid creating new bottlenecks. Unresolved items and monitoring: staff cautioned that landfill mornings still see long waits for some tipper trucks ("we usually have 25 to 30 trucks show up"), and said they will revert to contingency plans if issues return. Moss said the county receives daily or weekly time reports from Waste Control and that staff will continue spot checks and citizen outreach. If wait times climb again, staff will pursue a "plan B" of additional operational changes. Ending: County staff asked residents and commercial haulers to report any renewed problems and said they would update the board after further monitoring.