Supervisor Gary Giacomini on Wednesday said he has persuaded his fellow supervisors to spend $100,000 of county money to soften the blow of a proposed increase in trash-pickup rates in West Marin.
Giacomini's offer of county money, which he made Monday at a contentious meeting of West Marin's Waste Disposal Taskforce, was aimed at mollifying those who have opposed making garbage customers cover all of the landfill's back debts - including fees owed to a lawyer who fought against West Marin community groups.
On Wednesday Giacomini said he "sold" the other four supervisors on the idea that the $100,000 "would be a closure to a deal" in which garbage customers would pay the remaining $197,000 the dump says it needs to stay in business for one more year.
"This is the only landfill in county jurisdiction," Giacomini said on Monday. "I think there's some county responsibility." Plus, he said, "this is my last request" of the other supervisors" before stepping down at the end of the year.
The increased rate would keep the dump operating for another year and pay for state-mandated environmental studies. In the meantime, the taskforce would decide what to do with West Marin's garbage once the dump is closed.
So far the ideas being discussed include creating a transfer station at the landfill or somewhere else, hauling household garbage directly to a landfill in Novato or Richmond, and at various locations putting enclosed containers that would be hauled away regularly.
The last option, proposed Monday by members of Waste Watch, is a service offered by Waste Management Inc., a nationwide hauling company. The catch is that Shoreline Disposal holds an exclusive hauling franchise over most of West Marin plus short-term contracts with Bolinas and Stinson Beach.
In any case, Yeates on Monday told Shoreline representatives that landfill rates will increase next week. Shoreline must now ask the Bolinas Public Utility District, Stinson Beach Water District, and county supervisors for an increase in the rates they charge for curbside trash-pickup.
For curbside-pickup customers, the $33 dumping-fee hike would have translated to an average increase in pickup rates of 20 percent for Stinson Beach, 15 percent for Bolinas, and 13 percent for the rest of West Marin.
However, Giacomini said he didn't want Shoreline stuck in the middle of a dispute between community representatives and the landfill. He proposed that the county cover the "dirty," overdue debts in the landfill's list of bills.
As a result, Shoreline won't have to seek such a dramatic increase in garbage-can rates.
Although Giacomini's idea was a breakthrough in terms of cost sharing, other issues remained unsettled.
"There must be a slope-stability analysis before anything is done with that dump," said Robbins.
Added Mery, "The continuing operation of the landfill, as it is spelled out [in a dump proposal], doesn't seem to be financially or environmentally defensible....That landfill is full now and is very likely leaking now."
Greg Bartow, a Regional Water Quality Control Board engineer, noted that a slope-stability test would likely be done in January and that the amount of garbage the landfill can legally accept in the meantime would be "inconsequential."
Neither Mery nor Robbins were convinced. "Our technical people have been completely on track whereas the Regional Water Quality people as of three years ago were completely off track," Mery said.
In any case, the increased rates at the dump will soon start to pay for state-mandated environmental-quality tests.
To make certain of that, Tomales Bay Association member and North Marin Water District Director Dennis Rodoni suggested that the "compliance" money go into a special bank account.
Responded Giacomini, "I'm in total support of that. [We don't want that money to get] into the hands of the landfill."