Started by Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District
Mar 17, 2025
Mar 17, 2025
6
Interlocal Agreement with San Juan County
Mar 17, 2025
To: Our Lopez Community
From: LSWDD Managing Board
We are pleased to report that negotiations between LSWDD and San Juan County regarding a new 10-year agreement are complete. We are satisfied with the outcome.
To recap, the first 10-year agreement between the two parties expired at the end of 2023 and was renewed for another year. While LSWDD was ready to partner with the County last year to prepare a new agreement, we were unexpectedly shut out of the process. Instead, we were presented this past November with a fait accompli that was rife with objectionable elements. When these became more widely known, the subsequent outcry from the Lopez community persuaded the County Council to grant a three-month extension to revise the November draft.
Starting in January, the LSWDD board chair, Pam Stewart, and LSWDD District Manager, Rick Carr, met weekly with County Manager, Jessica Hudson. We were quickly able to address the objectionable operational elements in the original draft to both parties’ satisfaction, with the bulk of our discussions revolving around the County’s intention to start assessing LSWDD a lease payment, in line with what the County already requires of the solid waste operations on San Juan and Orcas islands. Our focus, then, was to ensure that such a payment accurately reflected Lopez property values and would not result in an immediate need to raise LSWDD rates. This we were able to accomplish.
County Manager Jessica Hudson proved to be a straightforward and collaborative partner and any disagreements we had were civil and thoughtful. Our collective intention was to ensure that LSWDD remains financially stable and an effective service provider to the residents of Lopez.
Thank you all for your continued support.
From: LSWDD Managing Board
We are pleased to report that negotiations between LSWDD and San Juan County regarding a new 10-year agreement are complete. We are satisfied with the outcome.
To recap, the first 10-year agreement between the two parties expired at the end of 2023 and was renewed for another year. While LSWDD was ready to partner with the County last year to prepare a new agreement, we were unexpectedly shut out of the process. Instead, we were presented this past November with a fait accompli that was rife with objectionable elements. When these became more widely known, the subsequent outcry from the Lopez community persuaded the County Council to grant a three-month extension to revise the November draft.
Starting in January, the LSWDD board chair, Pam Stewart, and LSWDD District Manager, Rick Carr, met weekly with County Manager, Jessica Hudson. We were quickly able to address the objectionable operational elements in the original draft to both parties’ satisfaction, with the bulk of our discussions revolving around the County’s intention to start assessing LSWDD a lease payment, in line with what the County already requires of the solid waste operations on San Juan and Orcas islands. Our focus, then, was to ensure that such a payment accurately reflected Lopez property values and would not result in an immediate need to raise LSWDD rates. This we were able to accomplish.
County Manager Jessica Hudson proved to be a straightforward and collaborative partner and any disagreements we had were civil and thoughtful. Our collective intention was to ensure that LSWDD remains financially stable and an effective service provider to the residents of Lopez.
Thank you all for your continued support.