Special Meetings & Special Sessions
- December 9, 2014 Special Meeting: Called to formulate a formal response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by citizen Jerome Heinemann regarding SWA records and legal advice provided by board counsel David Sims.
- September 9, 2024 Special Meeting: Focused on security, vandalism, and safety concerns at the Marlinton and Ceasar Mountain Green Box sites, including reports of loitering, unauthorized out-of-county waste disposal, and plans for repaired fencing and gates.
- January 21, 2025 Special Session: Held as a joint meeting with the Pocahontas County Commission to review deed revisions for the County Commission's purchase of the 40.6-acre landfill property from the Fertig family, confirming that SWA landfill rent for January–June 2025 would be waived.
- November 5, 2025 Special Meeting: Reviewed long-term financial modeling for post-closure export operations, noting that annual residential Green Box fees would need to increase to over $300 per household to cover transfer and long-haul freight costs.
- February 18, 2026 Special Session: Evaluated three 15-year transfer station lease options presented by private developer JacMal, LLC (Jacob and Malinda Meck), analyzing Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual escalations and final buyout costs ranging from $960,000 to $1,125,104.
- March 10, 2026 Special Session: Reviewed proposed updates to county solid waste regulations presented by attorney David Sims, including mandatory generator registration, strict "flow control" enforcement, restrictions on burying C&D waste without a Class D permit, and proposals to expand Green Box fees.
- March 19, 2026 Special Session: Addressed an estimated 70 members of the public during intense backlash over the proposed transfer station. Board leadership issued a formal statement outlining the history of the Green Box system and Fertig land leases, while clarifying that no final fee amounts had been finalized.
Regular Meetings & Regular Sessions
- 2011–2013 Regular Meetings:
- Addressed PSC Rate Case #11-1396-SWF-19A ($64/ton tipping fee) and mandatory escrow account transfers to the State Treasurer.
- Terminated groundwater monitoring contracts with Reliance Laboratories due to nonperformance and issued RFPs for replacement environmental engineering firms.
- Approved SWMB grant requests for equipment maintenance, recycling education, and file storage containers.
- Elected Ed Riley as Board Chairman and Jim Burks as Vice-Chairman.
- 2014–2016 Regular Meetings:
- Reviewed DEP low-level mercury discharge monitoring requirements for landfill leachate.
- Navigated legal updates regarding past-due fee collection lawsuits (PCSWA v. Leyzorek, Bernier, et al.) and retained attorney David Sims.
- Evaluated recycling proposals from Pocahontas Recycling and addressed SWMB performance reviews.
- Initiated early discussions with the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation (GVEDC) regarding property acquisition for future waste handling.
- 2021–2023 Regular Meetings:
- Tracked remaining landfill capacity (estimated at 5.3 years remaining in early 2021).
- Investigated alternative Green Box collection locations (such as East Fork Industrial Park) and conducted site visits to regional facilities like the Region 8 Petersburg Transfer Station.
- Approved employee wage adjustments and addressed increasing vandalism and scrap theft at unmonitored Green Box sites.
- 2024–2026 Regular Meetings:
- Landfill Closure Planning: Monitored the rapid depletion of landfill airspace caused by large C&D waste inflows from demolition projects (e.g., Snowshoe Ski Resort and the old Board of Education building).
- Fee Adjustments: Approved increasing the annual Green Box fee from $115 to $120 for the 2024–2025 fiscal year, while preparing PSC filings for future rate cases.
- Operational Restrictions: Planned schedule changes to lock Green Box gates on weekends and holidays once long-haul waste transport to Greenbrier County begins.
- Land Acquisition & Contracts: Authorized board leadership to execute purchase agreements for the landfill property and managed CPA auditing engagements with Mark Joseph, PLLC.
No comments:
Post a Comment