Hot Springs asks to take over dump

The town of Hot Springs is looking for more control over their trash. Mayor Randy Woods and City Clerk Amy Gray met with county commissioners last week to discuss the town's interest in taking over operations at the Hot Springs refuse site. Commissioners were open to the idea.

The refuse site is currently controlled by the Hot Springs Refuse District (HSRD), a special district of Sanders County. The district is managed by a board of five elected members, similar to parks, ambulance and fire districts. Woods told the commissioners that he believes the refuse site could make additional money by monitoring trash better and charging consistently for nontypical trash. Woods said the town managed the refuse district from around the 1940s to the 1980s, when the county special district was formed. Trash collected in Hot Springs used to be hauled to Lake County, but now is hauled to Missoula by Republic Services.

The county currently collects a solid waste fee using the Hot Springs High School boundary for the refuse district boundary. The town is proposing to use the same boundary. "We ran the numbers and we think we can do it," he told the commissioners. "We have the infrastructure and the employees." Woods is proposing to hire a third public works employee for Hot Springs to run the refuse site. The town would lease the land from the county. Commissioner Tony Cox said the county had approached Republic Services at one point to see if they wanted to manage the site, but did not hear back from the company.

Woods stated his vision for the site is that it would be fenced to control the trash, the town would create a pay schedule for property owners within the refuse district boundaries and a kiosk or booth would be set up with an attendant to check in people who are dumping trash at the site. He is proposing that when tax bills go out, residents will get a card that they can show to verify they have paid the garbage fee. "They show that card and it's a free pass for household garbage for the year," Woods explained. Those who do not reside in the refuse district would pay a fee for dumping based on the weight of the trash taken to the site. A scale would weigh patrons in and out to determine the fee. He also said they would like to have a new system to open and close lids on containers to prevent trash spreading. "It's things like that that just need to happen," Woods expressed. Gray said there are some planning grants available for solid waste that the town is researching.

Woods proposed that those in the refuse district would have a punch card allowing them four free tires per year and then one pickup truck load per year to be dumped at the site, then they would have to pay for anything over that, except for household trash. "One way or another you pay," Gray explained, stating that people would either pay the fee on their tax bills or pay when they dump the trash.

Woods explained that there are several entities, including the school and the city library, that do not pay any fee to dump trash, and that additional revenue could come from charging those organizations. He said the town would look at tax records to determine the number of estimated dwelling units for each type of business or per residence to determine the fees.

HSRD board members Cam Ulvick and Buzz Foster attended the meeting with town and county officials last week. "I don't think any of us like to see the district go away, but it's probably the best option," Ulvick said.

Commissioners Cox, Dan Rowan and John Holland all expressed support for the transfer and spoke with County Attorney Naomi Leisz about how to move forward. The next step in the process is that the HSRD will meet and vote to dissolve the board. The county and the Town of Hot Springs will both vote on an agreed upon memorandum of understanding that will be drafted in the coming weeks, followed by resolutions for the transfer. Woods said that ideally the matter would be finalized by both parties before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.