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Polk County commissioners send proposed solid-waste transfer franchise to hearings officer
Summary
County staff recommended and the Polk County Board of Commissioners unanimously directed staff to set a public hearing before the Polk County Hearings Officer on an application for a solid-waste transfer station franchise; the board did not make a final decision on the franchise itself.
Polk County commissioners on Jan. 8 unanimously directed staff to set a public hearing before Polk County Hearings Officer Leslie Howell to receive a staff recommendation and hear testimony on an application for a solid-waste transfer facility franchise.
The action moves the franchise application out of initial staff review and into a formal hearing process required by Polk County code, where the hearings officer will consider evidence and decide whether to grant the franchise. County Administrator Mr. Hansen and Community Development Director Austin McWeegan prepared the staff report that led to the recommendation.
“The question I had to consider as the administrator for this was, is there a need for a transfer station in Polk County? In my opinion, the answer to that is yes,” Mr. Hansen told the board. Hansen said Polk County currently has no waste disposal options within its boundaries and that “all of our waste goes to Coffin Butte, which is outside the county.” Hansen said staff reviewed the applicant’s qualifications and concluded the applicant met the necessary criteria to trigger the franchise process.
Hansen told commissioners that the county’s code requires the use of a hearings officer for this step and that the board’s role at this meeting was only to decide whether to refer the application to that officer. A majority motion directing staff to schedule the hearing before Hearings Officer Leslie Howell passed unanimously after a motion and second; commissioners gave no further debate on the motion.
The board did not approve or deny the franchise application itself; that decision will come after the hearings officer holds a public hearing, receives evidence and testimony, and issues a determination. Hansen estimated the public hearing likely would be scheduled within about a month. The staff packet for the application includes the history and the staff analysis of rate impacts and engineering considerations, Hansen said.
The board’s action sends the application into the formal administrative-hearing phase required by county code, rather than resolving the application at the commission level.
