Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Several members of the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) appeared before the County Commission at its September 16 meeting.
SWA member David Mc-Laughlin told the commission that, since the county landfill is projected to be filled up and unusable by about this time next year, the SWA will need about $300,000 each year from the commission in order to continue waste disposal in the county. He said the SWA will need to build and operate a transfer station on the landfill site.
SWA Office Administrator Mary Clendenen provided a computer presentation detailing the funding the SWA will need. It explained that the SWA only has three sources of income:
1. Green Box Fees – currently $135 per year per county household.
2. Landfill Tipping Fees – currently $95 per ton.
3. A WV Solid Waste Board Interim Fee and some very limited state grants through that board.
Clendenen’s proposal was for the SWA to build its own 70 x 65 foot transfer station at the landfill site with a building cost of about $800,000, equip it with a road tractor and three walking floor trailers at a cost of about $525,150, paying for that by applying for a 1% loan from the WV Solid Waste Management Board and continue the Green Box Program in the current five locations in the county. She said the SWA must also take steps to prevent unauthorized dumping at those locations, and the county needs to create a Litter Control Officer position to help prevent illegal dumping of trash throughout the county.
Clendenen also said that the landfill closure costs the SWA will have to pay has skyrocketed from an estimated $1.15 million in 2006 to an estimated $3.2 million today. The SWA hopes to have about $2.4 million in its closure account by the time the landfill closes. She said that if the state approves the use of closure turf instead of topsoil at the site, the closure cost might go down to the $2.4 million.
They are still waiting for that approval.
She said that for up to 30 years after closure, the SWA will have to pay about $75,000 a year for mandatory maintenance and monitoring of the landfill.
Clendenen estimated that the annual operational cost would be $1,674,699. To cover that cost, the 4,300 households in the county would have their annual Green Box fees raised to $250 per year and tipping fees will also have to go up substantially. However, she said, those costs would not go up as much if the commission contributes $300,000 annually to the operational costs. If not, and the fees are raised too much, the SWA may lose customers and be forced to discontinue operations.
When it was suggested by one of the commissioners that since Allegheny Disposal’s offer to build and equip a transfer station at the landfill was rejected by the SWA, what would be the impact if Allegheny Disposal builds its own, as they are saying they will do, and removes their business from the SWA. Clendenen said she hopes that does not happen, but if it does, the SWA would need at least $600,000 annually from the commission to continue operations.
The commission took no action at this meeting, with Commission President John Rebinski stating they are already loaded with other funding requests and commitments, such as being $1.5 million short on their 911 building project, and $1.5 million still needed to provide 24-7 ambulance service to the entire county.
Pocahontas County Sheriff Troy McCoy appeared before the commission with regard to issues concerning his office.
He asked the commission to raise the starting pay for Pocahontas County Deputies from the current $51,000 per year to $56,000 per year. He explained the raise is necessary to become competitive with other counties. He also said that raising it to $60,000 would enable them to become competitive with the $60,984 starting pay of the State Police, which has recently hired away three deputies from the county.
Commissioner Jamie Walker suggested that even if the county offered competitive pay, the other agencies would just raise their pay more. Despite that, the commission voted to raise the starting pay to the $56,000.
McCoy also explained that he has an opening for a Courthouse Security Officer and has 14 applicants for that position. He said that by the time he interviews all of them and brings one to the commission for approval, it will be too late to enroll the new employee in the mandatory state training. He explained the training is only offered once a year, and the new employee has to start the training by September 29, or they will have to wait for next year’s training. He asked if he could select, hire and enroll an applicant then get retroactive approval from the commission. He added that he already has the money for this position in his budget. After a short discussion, the commission agreed to allow him to do that.
In other matters, the commission
• approved the following regarding the ARC Broadband Grant: Draw Request #17 in the amount of $13,335.79 from the grant to pay invoices and to write a letter to the state requesting additional funding for the ARC Broadband Project to cover a $300,000 shortage in the grant which was caused by higher charges from Mon Power to make their poles ready to receive fiber.
• agreed to Amendment #1 to the contract with the WV Division of Natural Resources regarding the Handley Wildlife Management Area to allow the county to improve the trail around the lake and build a boardwalk area on the lake.
• approved Resolution #10 for the Pocahontas County PSD’s Thornwood Waterline Extension Project to pay $14,515.55 from the grant to pay invoices.
• approved an in-house Budget Revision and Resolution for Courthouse Security.
• approved the County Financial Statement for FY 2024-2025.
• approved submission of the application for the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Grant
• approved correcting a clerical error in the easement with PMH for the 911 tower on Beard Heights.
