Bonner County reinstates Colburn free table, dissolves Solid Waste Advisory Committee and orders monthly public updates

Bonner County commissioners on Thursday voted to reinstate a community “free table” at the Colburn (Colburn/Culver) solid-waste transfer site and to dissolve the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC), replacing the advisory board’s intended role with monthly, public solid-waste updates to the Board of County Commissioners.

The moves followed more than two hours of testimony from residents, two site inspections and a written risk review from the county’s risk manager. Director of Solid Waste Bob Harrow told commissioners the department initially recommended against restoring the table at Colburn because recent site upgrades increased commercial traffic and heavier equipment at the tipping floor. Risk manager Christian Jocelyn Respanger told the board the principal safety concern at Colburn is vehicle traffic flow around the gate and tipping area; Respanger said the county’s insurer and the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) indicated the county could allow a free table if warnings and controls were used to limit legal exposure.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternate siting at Colburn — for example placing the table near existing recycling dumpsters away from the entrance — and asked that staff coordinate signage and operational procedures consistent across all solid-waste sites. Commissioner Korn (solid-waste liaison) agreed to work with the director and risk manager on standardized placement, signage and a countywide approach for the program before the county expands any other sites’ free tables.

After public comment that included multiple residents who said the free tables reduce waste and help families, the board approved a motion to reinstate the Colburn free table while directing solid-waste staff to locate it out of the high-traffic entrance area, add signage required by risk and legal to limit county liability, and report back at the next business meeting. Director Harrow said staff expects to have the table in place within two weeks and will post updates to the Solid Waste Facebook page; the board’s roll call vote passed.

Separately, Harrow recommended and the board approved dissolving the Solid Waste Advisory Committee by resolution (resolution 2025-29). Harrow said the committee repeatedly failed to secure enough volunteers to meet quorum requirements despite recruitment efforts and changes to eligibility; commissioners concluded the committee could not reliably provide…