LAKE COUNTY >> The Lake County Department of Public Services presented a case for universal trash collection and Eastlake Landfill expansion to the Board of Supervisors at its regular meeting on Tuesday.
Interim Public Services Director Kim Clymire was on hand for the report and informed the board that his staff is considering the location for the program’s start to be in Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks so progress can be made on the high amount of illegal dumping in those towns.
“Universal Collection is an important component of waste management because it helps to eliminate illegal dumping, something that is a significant problem in Lake County,” he informed the board in a memo.
Originally, the pilot program was planned for Middletown. However, due to the recent fires causing a loss of nearly 600 customers, the plans needed to be changed because “it is no longer possible there.”
District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele was supportive of the suggestion, but advised Clymire that Lucerne residents may not go for it because they are burdened by high water rates. Steele recommended that some form of rate payer relief programs be considered.
In any case, Clymire told the board that the implementation of such a program would require voter approval under Proposition 218 — approximately two-thirds of that area’s population would have to vote yes for it.
To garner support for its argument, Public Services will list the benefits of the program and compare it to the costs of self-hauling in its Proposition 218 letter, according to the memo. If its approved by the population, Clymire said the program should start around summertime.
Clymire also talked to the supervisors about Lake County’s urgency to expand the Eastlake Landfill. According to him, the 300-ton per day dumping from the debris of the Valley Fire is filling the Clearlake site nearly four years faster than its original estimate at 2025, or 2021.
“We’ve got some breathing room, but we have to get going right away,” he said, adding that this torrid pace of unloading has created $12 million in revenue for Public Services.
Four options for the expansion project were presented. According to the memo, initial estimates range from $4.8 million to $20.5 million, extending the life of the landfill to 2035 or 2040.
Two of the four will use land from Southlake Refuse and Recycling to develop 1.4 to 1.8 million cubic yard of space combined with county owned lands. The smaller one costs about $4.9 million and the latter costs approximately $6.6 million.
The most expensive project would be done by SCS Engineers. It would add 1.89 million cubic yards.
In the meantime as the project goes through the thorough process of environmental impact and permitting from the state, there is a way to curb the fast approaching fill up. Clymire stressed to the supervisors that the waste import contract with Ukiah should not be renewed when it expires at the end of this year.
Although the board did not oppose this idea, District 2 Supervisor Jim Smith recommended that the Mendocino County city be consulted because the contract helped when the department faced an approximately $500,000 deficit.
Another idea was to see if the state would allow the landfill to be higher than the permitted height of 1,837 feet.
Overall, the board praised Clymire’s staff for the work they’ve done during the Valley Fire and the recovery.
“It’s great to see everyone pull together and get it done,” Smith said.
