Marion council approves MOU to form working group to study regional landfill governance

The Marion City Council voted Feb. 5 to approve a memorandum of understanding that will commit the city to participate in a multi-jurisdiction working group to review governance of the regional waste agency and study options to reduce landfill impacts.

Supporters on the council and staff said the agreement simply establishes a working group to research governance structures, diversion goals and performance metrics and does not, by itself, amend the 2005 settlement or authorize a physical expansion. "This MOU establishes a working group that has defined accountabilities to set forth a revised operating structure," a council member said while pressing that no setback reduction or expansion will occur without future council approvals.

The decision came after more than an hour of public comment from residents who said the agency has failed to pursue alternatives and has sought to extend the landfill's useful life. Bill Copper, a Marion landowner, urged delay and wider public input, saying the community had experienced "broken promises, misrepresentations" in past expansions. Another longtime resident and former mayor said the region had given the agency decades to act. "We have given you 25 years to solve it, and all you have done is kick the can down the road," the speaker said.

City staff and the city manager responded that the settlement agreement from 2005 remains in place and that the MOU would not itself change that agreement. Staff told the council the working group will research national best practices for governance and consider milestones, diversion targets and performance indicators before any party could propose an amendment that would reduce the operational setback or otherwise permit additional capacity. "This only commits the city of Marion to participating in the working group," the city manager said.

Council members said part of the working group's work will be to engage state legislators and agencies on barriers to deploying alternative technologies at a regional scale, and that any legislative engagement or governance changes would be subject to future review and approval by the council. The motion to approve the resolution carried by voice vote; the transcript does not contain a roll-call tally for the MOU vote.

Next steps: staff will participate in the working-group formation and return to council with further reports and any proposed changes to the settlement agreement or operating parameters for council consideration.