Exchange: Location Not a Foregone Conclusion

— by Lin McNulty —

“We are currently in a feasibility study,” stressed Orcas Recycling (ORS) Board President Tim Blanchard, as if he could not say it enough during a public meeting at Eastsound Fire Station on Sunday, December 7. What is going to happen with the new Exchange building, what it will look like, or where it will be is not, at this point in time, a “foregone conclusion.”

In a move to make the process transparent, to receive public input, and to quash the inevitable rumors, ORS called a town hall meeting as they consider the purchase of a 35-acre parcel of property on Orcas Road, commonly referred to as the Carlson property.

The proposal includes:

• Acquisition of an existing commercial building
• Approximately 5 acres of the property grandfathered as commercial
• An approximate 30 acres designated as Agricultural Land
• Upgrade existing building to quickly reopen the Exchange
• Ownership by ORS to provide a permanent home for The Exchange
• Opportunities for efficient composting, incorporation of goats to eat noxious weeds, mushrooms to eliminate petroleum products spilled onto the ground, and a variety of cooperative community programs
• Improve land use consistent with appearance and productivity of the parcel
• Use Transfer Station space for recycling.

The Exchange was originally incorporated in 1985 as an entity of the non-profit Orcas Recycling Services by George Post and others. When The Exchange was destroyed by fire in February 2013, ORS had already submitted a bid to operate both the Transfer Station and preserve The Exchange.

The ORS Mission Statement is “Building a zero waste community through service, education and responsible stewardship of our waste/resource streams.” Their core values include:

• Community
• Stewardship
• Accountability
• Integrity
• Neighborliness
• Initiative
• Creativity
• Education
• Service
• Sustainability
• Resourcefulness

ORS currently has a renewable lease contract with the County to operate the Orcas Transfer Station for five years and one day. This 66-page document, plus attachments, has many requirements, limits, and cross-references. Although the current site has a history as “a reuse facility,” the possibility remains that the County could terminate the contract at any time, should the political landscape change.

To those who question “Why not put The Exchange back where it was before? ” Blanchard explained there is no simple (inexpensive) answer to that burning question. Much work would need to be done to the existing property, including a revised traffic circulation plan to relieve Orcas Road of backup. Some cleanup of the former Exchange reuse facility site has already been accomplished, to include removal and recycling of over 40 tons of materials.

The existing Exchange site is only one acre in size and would require roadways and parking to be incorporated. That doesn’t leave much room for an actual building. One of the proposals includes a “Big Roof Concept,” and the use of shipping containers and a membrane roof (a synthetic stretched material). There can be no more spots outside where building materials are stored. Code requires everything to be under cover. The Carlson property already has a large building that is not turnkey and will, according to Blanchard, require some upgrading.

Recycling is not Included in the proposed Carlson purchase plan; the dump or any garbage activity will remain at the current transfer site.

Moving The Exchange to a new site will allow more room to efficiently and effectively manage recycling—an important component of the ORS’ Zero Waste goal. As recently discovered by a group of middle schoolers, our island recycling is not clean and includes many unrecyclables. The more recycling that can be done on island, the less the cost to have it shipped off. The Exchange will not be the recycling site. The Exchange will not fundamentally change the “pay what you can” model. Donations from the Exchange will not be used to subsidize the transfer station operations, nor vice versa.

There is still lots to look at before a final decision is made. The Carlson property will not be purchased, nor a building erected at the current site, until a full feasibility study, environmental review, and due diligence are completed, along with community support for the proposal. “A variety of things are possible, but we can’t do them all just because it’s a good idea,” says Blanchard. “The board has not had a chance to explore everything that is possible.”

Meanwhile, several cautions were offered by attendees with concerns such as noise, extra traffic, zoning, inconvenience in having to make two stops for The Exchange and the dump. “Don’t sell this to the community as a shortcut to getting a building,” cautioned Fred Klein. “You won’t be able to significantly alter the existing building [on the Carlson property].”

“Why would we abandon that opportunity we have had for 30 years and move it somewhere else,” asked George Post “Getting rid of that one-site concept is mind boggling.”

What is the community willing to support? “What keeps us awake at night,” said Blanchard, “is how to put the Exchange back, and we cannot put it back the way it was.There is still a bunch of site planning to be done once we know what’s happening with the new proposed site.”

“A contingency plan exists to put The Exchange onto the transfer station site, but it would cost about the same, depending…. We want The Exchange back in the next calendar year,” added Blanchard. “We are not closing our eyes to additional options while we pursue the Carlson property. It’s only quicker if it works,” stated Blanchard. “No way is this a done deal. If we can’t get the conditional use permit to do what we want to do then we don’t buy it.”

The Exchange is donation-supported and ORS has begun the search for funding to support the New Exchange.

A downloadable PDF of the ORS slideshow presentation is available HERE, including site drawings and aerial views.