INSIDE

Point Roberts is talking trash

By Meg Olson

Changes to the local garbage system being proposed by Point Recycling and Refuse may bring Whatcom County Council and representatives from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to Point Roberts.

Following some strong words from local garbage hauler Arthur Wilkowski at the June 5 county council meeting, council members agreed that a meeting in Point Roberts could be scheduled in late summer.

According to minutes from the meeting Wilkowski accused Brenner of having “crossed the line from being a stubborn and opinionated politician, and has become a callous and abusive tyrant, intent on the destruction of his company.”

Brenner defended her questioning of Wilkowski’s proposal to the county solid waste advisory committee to eliminate curbside recycling in Point Roberts, replacing it with a free drop-off program, and to require mandatory garbage service for all Point Roberts homes and businesses.

Minutes state that Brenner told council members “just because she doesn’t agree with his position doesn’t mean he is necessarily rational, and she’s not.  It means they are having a disagreement. (…) The council has a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers everywhere to not just take any provider’s word for anything when it’s a utility and a monopoly.  They are supposed to be there to ensure that the rights of the utility payers are being respected, too. It’s not her job to take his word for anything.”

Brenner is asking for a WUTC analysis of the garbage business to determine if the proposed changes are necessary to provide adequate service to the community, as Wilkowski has stated. Wilkowski maintains the WUTC analyzes rates, and he is asking for changes to system design, the purview of the county, not to state-regulated rates.