HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.22.2026 SWAC Mtg DRAFT Minutes
Jefferson County, Washington State
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting, Thursday, January 22, 2026, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Public Works Office, 623 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, WA
Hybrid Meeting
Audio and video recordings posted under Meeting Recordings on this website
https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/483/Solid-Waste-Advisory-Committee
Opening Business
Meeting agenda posted on website on January 16, 2026.
1. Call to Order and Roll Call – Tracy Grisman, Chair
Committee Members Present for Roll Call:
Heidi Eisenhour, County Commissioner Tracy Grisman, Chair, & District #1
Phil Sonne, Citizen-at-Large Rebecca Jewell, Citizen-at-Large
Joey Deese, Vice Chair, & Waste Connections Bliss Morris, City of Port Townsend
Sierra Young, Conservation District Kimberlie Webber, Port of Port Townsend
Committee Members Absent
Don Rhoden, District #2 Alysa Thomas, Tessera (Recycling)
Public Works Staff Present
Al Cairns, Solid Waste Program Manager Justin Miskell, Solid Waste Operations Manager
Chris Spall, Admin Support Staff Laura Tucker, Solid Waste Education and Outreach
Eric Kuzma, PW Director
Guests/Visitors included
Lacy Kooiman and Blake Nelson, WA State Department of Ecology; Jean Ball, Citizen; Jim Friedman,
Citizen; Stephanie Moran, Trash Task Force; and Tyler Wood, Carbotura.
There is a quorum.
2. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Tracy read the role of the Chair from the SWAC By-Laws. Rebecca motioned to open-up the nominations,
and Joey seconded the motion. Tracy asked for nominations for the Chair. Rebecca nominated Sierra, and
Tracy and Phil both nominated Rebecca. Rebecca accepted the nomination for Chair and the SWAC voted
unanimously to have Rebecca Jewel as Chair starting after the meeting. Tracy read role of Vice Chair from
the By-Laws and asked for nominations for Vice-Chair. Phil motioned and Tracy seconded the motion to
nominate a Vice Chair. Joey nominated Phil and Sierra seconded the nomination. The SWAC voted
unanimously to have Phil Sonne as the Vice Chair.
3. Guest Speaker – Tyler Wood, VP of Circularity for Carbotura
Carbotura are investors and manufacturers. The company’s circular manufacturing system is
supposed to transform waste into critical minerals and materials. It is in the permitting phase in
Pennsylvania, but not in use there yet.
4. Public Comments included:
• Keeping meeting recordings for longer than 6 months
• Significant increase in costs at Quilcene Drop Box since 2022, would like to see analysis go
back to 2020 to understand why expenses gone up 50% in last three years.
• Are numbers for illegal dumping at recycling sites being reported to Public Health?
• A lot of revenue challenges in solid waste could be solved by increasing the tipping fee
5. Approval/correction of Minutes from Previous Meetings.
Tracy asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the October 1st meeting. Phil made the
motion and Rebecca seconded it. Tracy asked for any discussion or corrections to be made. SWAC
approved the motion with Heidi abstaining.
6. Staff Reports (Solid Waste Program Update Report). Various items were commented on and
discussed including:
• Operating losses at Quilcene Drop Box
• Congratulations and thanks to Justin and Al on their new roles in Solid Waste
• Three bills in Olympia: Bottle bill seems stuck, seems Bag bill has traction, and Derelict Boat
Bill if passed will reduce period of custody to 15 days instead of 30.
• Return to Earth’s development of small-scale food waste composting on land leased from
County that is adjacent to the Transfer Station.
• Work being done to keep operations going at Transfer Station until new facility is built
• The joint BoCC/SWTF (Solid Waste Task Force) meeting scheduled for Monday, January 26
at 6 p.m. in the Chimacum Tri-Area Center.
7. Old Business
a. Discussion and possible adoption of by-laws revisions (Al Cairns)
Revisions are marked up in red on the By-Laws that were included in the meeting materials.
The revisions proposed by staff have been essentially approved by the Prosecuting Attorney’s
Office (PAO.) The revisions include a few minor wording changes, making SWAC member
terms three years instead of two years, and adding a section for “SWAC Vacancies and
Requests for Appointment.” There was discussion on the revisions, and the proposed
Interview Questions, and the process to vet potential SWAC members. Heidi made the
motion to approve the recommended changes to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee By-
Laws. Phil seconded the motion, and the SWAC voted unanimously to approve the motion.
Tracy called for a motion to adopt the Solid Waste Advisory Committee applicant interview
questions and form a work group that can edit the questions to be the consistent interview
questions for any applicant that wants to be part of the SWAC. Joey made the motion. Tracy
seconded the motion, and the SWAC voted unanimously to approve the motion. The working
group will be Phil, Sierra, Rebecca, and Joey, Heidi recommended the working group
interview candidates to vote on for the next SWAC meeting.
b. Education/Outreach update
Laura spoke about work being done to get the message out about the recycling changes that
are coming April 1: This includes a new flyer that will be mailed out with PUD bills, updated
ingo on the solid waste webpage, and an FAQ page about the recycling changes. There will
also be social media posts, press releases, articles in Leader/PDN/Beacon, in-person
presentations, and info sent to local newsletters.
8. New Business
a. Guest Speaker – Lacy Kooiman, Dept. of Ecology: New SWMP Update Guidelines
Lacy presented on a revision process for a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP.) Key
points included: Starting the Plan Update; General planning timeline of two years; Required
planning elements in RCW 70A.205.045; CROP needs to be integrated into SWMP;
Organics Management Law Requirements; Waste container colors and labels law; General
recommendations from Ecology; Ecology Data Resources, Role of the SWAC; and Ecology
Resources available. Lacy is our Ecology Planner and is there to provide technical assistance
and support us through this process.
9. Partner Updates (10 mins.)
a. Artist in Residency Program Starting up again for next semester. Call for artists on the AIRE
website. Applications accepted until March 23
b. Tessera (Skookum) Contract Services –No report.
c. Waste Connections – Joey operating agreement has been signed for recycling facility at
Transfer Station.
d. City of Port Townsend – No report.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 4:55 pm.
Next meeting: Thursday, April 23, 2026