| Brigham
City council hears rationale for Little Mountain landfill
By Rebecca
Hansen
March 27, 2009 | BRiGHAM CITY -- The Northern Utah
Regional Landfill Authority thinks a regional landfill
at Little Mountain still has value and can benefit all
communities involved.
At the recent City Council meeting, Nathan Rich, director
of the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District,
said County Commissioner Jay Hardy had asked him to
come give the council a presentation on the route the
landfill authority (NURLA) is taking with the Little
Mountain project. Rich said that the project needs the
full support of the county and they want to get some
public input.
Mayor Lou Ann Christensen asked Blake Fonnesbeck,
Brigham City public works director, to give an impromptu
explanation of how a regional landfill would affect
the city. Before he could speak, he was stopped by Councilwoman
Ruth Jensen.
"Before Blake gets grilled about this I want to stop
him," Jensen said. "If anyone should be giving a presentation,
it should be him [Rich]."
In response to this, the people in the council chambers
began clapping. Christensen had to ask them, "please
don't clap."
Fonnesbeck said that landfills are very expensive,
with local landfills equaling the best rates for citizens.
A new cell with less people to fill that cell means
rates go up, Fonnesbeck said, while the more people
who fill that cell keeps rates more affordable.
Another alternative would be to ship trash to another
landfill, which is "just so expensive," Fonnesbeck said.
He said even if this project keeps the rates the same,
it would be doing good by the citizens.
"When you've got one (a landfill) with potential of
growth, you should do what you can to keep it," Fonnesbeck
said.
Having a municipally owned landfill controls the cost
of dumping, Rich said. With commercial landfills, its
not about the cost of land-filling, he said, it's the
cost of competition that drives the rate up.
Rich said other members of NURLA are interested in
working with Box Elder County with either an interlocal
agreement or a long-term lease as opposed to an outright
purchase.
Councilman Reese Jensen said he felt that seeking
any sort of approval by the city council was premature.
He said since no proposal had been presented, the council
couldn't take any position on behalf of the citizens.
"Personally, I support taking it to the public," Jensen
said.
Christensen said she encourages everyone to attend
the public meetings being held by the County Commission.
The next one is March 31 at the county courthouse in
Brigham City, at 6:30 pm.
In other business, the council made appointments and
reappointments to the Heritage and Cultural Arts board,
the Natural History Museum task force, the Shade Tree
commission, the Planning Commission, the Parks commission
and the Volunteer Center advisory board, as well as
a promotion in the police department and the hiring
of a new employee in the library. The mayor also presented
Dr. Carey Lloyd with the Individual Everyday Hero award.
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