Kalispell City Council digs into solid waste master plan effort

Kalispell City Council began digging through the municipality’s trash disposal services Monday as part of an ongoing effort to develop a solid waste master plan.

Work on the master plan began in the spring of 2023, according to city documents. When complete, the roadmap will provide city officials with an assessment of current operations, service costs, revenue requirements, rate recommendations and guidelines for future policy decisions. 

Expected to be finalized in either 2024 or 2025, the master plan has a roughly 10-year shelf life, officials said. 

As part of the undertaking, officials brought on consultant Scott Pasternak, an associate and senior project manager for the solid waste and resource recovery practice for engineering firm Burns & McDonnell. Pasternak was on hand to answer questions Jan. 22 while Council reviewed a presentation on the city’s solid waste needs.

“We’re definitely not so far along that we have developed conclusions or recommendations. We want insight from you all,” Pasternak told Council.

The data presented to Council showed collection services financially strained by inflation, fuel prices, wages and administration costs — among other key factors that are rising faster than historical averages.

For example, Public Works Director Susie Turner said that the cost of a sidearm truck, like those in Kalispell’s current fleet, has gone from $275,000 to $450,000. Three disposal trucks are due for replacement by the end of Fiscal Year 2028.

COUNCIL ALSO examined service alternatives as part of the presentation. 

They included modifying the frequency of trash pickup, creating a curbside recycling program and changing the subscription model for residential customers. 

Councilor Jessica Dahlman described the alleys in her neighborhood as piled up with garbage and bulky discards, sometimes near empty disposal units. 

“Is it ubiquitous throughout the city?” Dahlman asked her colleagues, receiving several affirmative responses. 

Pasternak said that several cities still implement alley services and brush or bulk disposal like Kalispell, but changing the frequency of services will “be an area your residents are interested in understanding.”

Councilor Chad Graham predicted opposition.  

“It’s something they’ve always done,” he said. “People expect it now.”

Councilor Jed Fisher worried that reducing alley pickup service could present a public health challenge while Councilor Sid Daoud wondered whether the current structure was fair for residents. Some likely get more use out of municipal waste collection than others, he suggested. 

Mayor Mark Johnson asked about targeting the cost of alleyway pickup at users. Turner said officials could look at varying fee structures for users with alleway service.

The presentation also included options for a pay-as-you-throw program, which incentivizes customers to create less waste and would not significantly alter disposal cost as landfill service is charged by the county. 

The program would require changing out the 300-gallon residential trash drums with individually-assigned trash carts adjusted to each customer’s need at 90, 60 or 35 pounds. It also would require the purchase of different trucks to replace the trucks going out of service in the next four years, as well as 200 new dumpsters. 

Pasternak and Turner appraised the move as viable for starting a recycling program, arguing that it creates fairness by linking the cost of service and amount of service rendered. The downside is increased administration and the large inventory of carts needed. 

As for implementing a curbside recycling program, the presenters said it will allow more disposal per customer, come with environmental benefits and divert waste from landfills.

In Helena, where customers use drop-off sites and privatized curbside pickup, the cost is roughly $193 per customer annually, of which the city pays half. In Bozeman, curbside recycling operates on a subscription basis with 5,200 customers, and it costs almost $200 per person per year. 

Pasternak cautioned that adding recycling in Montana requires lengthy trips to plants in Spokane or Salt Lake City until secondary markets for recycling waste form locally. It also requires public education to reduce load contamination and it would raise the cost per customer from its current rate.

SEEKING PUBLIC input as well as direction from Council, city officials have launched an online survey asking residents about current solid waste services and their thoughts on future approaches to waste management. 

The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TTWCZHJ.

Aimed at residential and commercial waste disposal customers, the survey poses questions fundamental to service overhaul, such as: What services do customers use? How satisfied are they? What alternative services would customers support with their tax bill? 

And, crucially, how much are customers willing to pay through taxes to improve service or add a recycling program with separate bins?

Council plans to discuss the results of the survey, which closes Feb. 9, at a forthcoming meeting. Afterward it is expected to direct Public Works to begin drawing up the master plan complete with public input. A draft plan is due in March or April.

Carl Foster can be reached at 758-4407 or cfoster@dailyinterlake.com.