||| FROM RHEA MILLER |||
Once again San Juan County is attempting to take operational control of the Lopez Dump. This effort is led by Councilmember Fuller and the Director of the Environmental Stewardship (ES) Department Kendra Smith. Fuller and Smith want to wrest management of Dump operations from Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD).
They are supported by the Prosecuting Attorney and County Manager. LSWDD was established as the managing entity of the Dump by Ordinance 11-2012. According to the Ordinance, San Juan County cannot take over management without a public hearing.
In December 2023, the existing Interlocal Agreement (ILA) between San Juan County and LSWDD expired. LSWDD submitted a draft of an ILA in December 2023 to help move the process of renewal along. The County granted a one-year extension and stated that they would get back to LSWDD with any changes.
Eleven months later in November 2024, Fuller, Smith and the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney released their draft ILA to the District Manager and Board Chair, but instructed them not to share the draft with the entire LSWDD Board. On November 26, with the LSWDD Board still unaware of the changes to the ILA, Fuller and Smith asked LSWDD to sign the new ILA by December 9. LSWDD countered that the County held numerous meetings between May and September (including at least one on the LSWDD site without LSWDD’s knowledge) to formulate this proposal – all without LSWDD input.
On December 4, the LSWDD Board Chair and District Manager were told that the new ILA would be enacted without the LSWDD Board’s signature. The new ILA gives operational directives from San Juan County despite the Ordinance clearly stating that LSWDD is responsible for operations. The County also proposes a new annual fee ($19,000 in 2025 to $36,000, by 2030), which they would hold in a special fund to “pay for purchase” of the adjacent public works site that the County would still own.
LSWDD views this as an unfair tax specifically on Lopez residents. LSWDD is puzzled by the motivation for this attempted takeover. LSWDD is fiscally sound, award-winning, known for environmental stewardship, and provider of services required of San Juan County by the State. In the last 30 years San Juan County has made multiple attempts to wrest control of the Lopez dump.
Each time Lopez residents have rallied to protect their “Dump.”
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Lopez islanders appear to have done an admirable job in taking care of Lopez island business, including the dump and LCLT; this power grab by the county makes no sense from the viewpoint of this Orcas islander. I suggest to the county administrators across the water in Friday Harbor that they tend to more pressing matters and leave Lopez to do things the Lopez way.