Pocatello council approves commercial cardboard fee, OKs $646,642 remodel for recycling facility

Pocatello — The City Council approved a midyear amendment to the city's sanitation fee schedule to add fees for commercial cardboard pickup and authorized a guaranteed maximum price amendment of $646,642 for a partial remodel of the city's recycling facility.

Tom Kirkman, director of public services, told the council the action is the "first step" in establishing a commercial cardboard program the council has identified as a high priority. Kirkman said the city is not changing existing residential garbage fees but is adding charges to cover the cost of collecting commercial cardboard and single-stream material.

Kirkman explained the change followed the exit of two private operators that handled local recycling. "Western Recycling was the first; they decided it didn't fit their business model," he said, and when Republic Services later bought the facility they subsequently told the city they would not continue operations. Kirkman said those developments, and a 30-day notice the city received to cease curbside recycling, prompted the city to step in to maintain services.

Kirkman said Pocatello's curbside participation rate is substantially higher than the national average used by the EPA: "The national average is about 35 percent; the city of Pocatello is currently at 77 percent participation." He also described the city's historical recycling budget and current costs: "We have historically had about a $400,000 budget for recycling per year," he said, and added the program recently has been running about "$20,000 less a month" (as stated to council).

Resident Nikki Tase spoke during the public-comment portion of the sanitation hearing and voiced opposition to the city expanding recycling services. "It's not the government's job to be in...the recycle business," she said, and argued the city had not done enough to secure a private provider. The council invited Tom Kirkman to explain the timeline and said private operators had withdrawn, which the director confirmed.

Separately, council members approved a guaranteed-maximum-price amendment not to exceed $646,642 for construction management services tied to a partial remodel of the city's recycling facility. Kirkman told the council the facility needs upgrades to create "a better interface with the public," replace dilapidated exterior elements and create usable office space. Council members characterized the interior as needing extensive cleanup and repair but said the building's structure appears sound.

The motions: Council President Loehrick moved to approve the sanitation fee amendment; Council Member Cheatham seconded. For the recycling facility remodel, the motion was moved by Council Member Cheatham and seconded by Council Member Nichols. Both agenda items were approved by roll call.

The council discussion and materials show the sanitation amendments and remodel will be paid from the FY25 sanitation services budget; staff said the cardboard program will help offset single-stream processing costs by increasing higher-value cardboard intake. Kirkman characterized cardboard as helping reduce net losses from curbside single-stream processing.

The council did not adopt or announce additional changes to residential curbside fees at the meeting. Opponents during the public hearing urged the city to pursue private-sector options and questioned whether the new fees and city ownership of processing are the best approach.

The council approved both items during the meeting. Staff will complete the procurement and legal reviews and proceed with construction management and the cardboard program implementation under the parameters approved by the council.