Drafter
Clerk 10/05/2017
Title
A MOTION expressing support for planning for solid waste transfer capacity in Northeast King County.
Body
WHEREAS, the solid waste division of the department of natural resources and parks operates the Cedar Hills regional landfill, eight transfer stations and two drop boxes, as well as provides innovative programs to help customers recycle and prevent waste, and
WHEREAS, the 2006 Transfer and Waste Management Plan ("the 2006 transfer plan"), approved in 2007 by Ordinance 15979, recommended a new Northeast recycling and transfer station ("Northeast station") to meet growing demand for solid waste services in northeast King County, and
WHEREAS, the 2006 transfer plan also recommended that the aging Houghton transfer station be closed when replacement capacity was available, and
WHEREAS, to confirm the need for new stations, including a Northeast station, two reviews of the 2006 transfer plan were directed through the 2013/2014 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 17696, Section 25, Proviso P1, and Motion 14145 passed in 2014, and
WHEREAS, while the need for a new station was under review, Ordinance 17696 adopted in 2013 removed the Northeast station project from the division's capital improvement program, and
WHEREAS, the second transfer plan review, completed in 2015, suggested that if the cities of Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina and Yarrow Point leave the regional system in 2028 per existing interlocal agreements, demand management actions such as extending station hours and charging peak-hour prices could meet customer needs for many years without a Northeast station, and
WHEREAS, in 2015 the county auditor confirmed the conclusions from the second transfer plan review and recommended real-world testing to confirm that modeled demand management actions perform as predicted, and
WHEREAS, to confirm the potential effectiveness of demand management, Ordinance 18409 approved 2017-2018 appropriations to conduct a northeast-area demand management pilot program, as well as assumed revenue during the biennium from proceeds of the sale of the division's Eastgate property, and
WHEREAS, Motion 14856 acknowledged receipt of a demand management pilot program implementation plan that recommended the temporary suspension of commercial and self-haul garbage services at the Houghton transfer station, as well as extended hours and peak-hour pricing at the Factoria transfer and recycling station, and
WHEREAS, additional approval by ordinance to authorize a temporary suspension of service at the Houghton transfer station and to establish peak pricing at the Factoria transfer and recycling station would have been required in order to implement the pilot program, and
WHEREAS, a July 2017 letter cosigned by the King County executive and Bellevue city manager outlined a process by which the city of Bellevue would extend its solid waste interlocal agreement through 2040, subject to the county's cancelation of the 2018-2019 demand management pilot program, commitment to a Northeast station and agreement that the county-owned Eastgate property would not be used to expand the Factoria transfer and recycling station, and
WHEREAS, if Bellevue extends its interlocal agreement and the Houghton transfer station is closed in accordance with the 2006 transfer plan, the executive's assessment is that the county's transfer system would exceed level-of-service standards without a Northeast station and demand management at the Factoria transfer and recycling station is no longer a substitute for a Northeast station, and
WHEREAS, construction of a Northeast recycling and transfer station in the future would be subject to the county's debt management policies, which currently are set forth in Motion 12660, including the policies in section 6.2 of Attachment A to Motion 12660 relating to the term of financing;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
In order to meet the solid waste transfer capacity needs of the Northeast area of King County, and in anticipation of the city of Bellevue signing the Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement as authorized by Ordinance 17677 by October 31, 2017, thereby extending the city's participation in the regional solid waste system through 2040, it is the intention of the King County council that King County shall:
A. Cancel the demand management pilot proposed in Motion 14856, which would have temporarily suspended commercial and self-haul garbage services at the Houghton transfer station and would have established extended hours and peak-hour pricing at the Factoria transfer and recycling station.
B. In light of the tonnage that would result from Bellevue's continuation in the system and the cancellation of the demand management pilot program, plan for needed transfer station capacity in the Northeast area of King County that would be in addition to the existing Factoria station and that would allocate transfer capacity equitably among the jurisdictions in the region.
C. Conduct planning for needed transfer station capacity in the Northeast area of
King County within the context of the development of the Solid Waste Comprehensive Plan and the regional solid waste system as a whole.