Lofty dome signals pending return of 'transfer station' status

A 40-foot tall reinforced, industrial-strength dome, new slab of concrete and extended tipping floor, are designed to accommodate commercial-grade dump trucks at San Juan Islands solid-waste facility.

image credit: Scott Rasmussen

The transformation of the San Juan Island solid-waste facility reached a new plateau with the recent installation of an industrial-strength dome, a new slab of concrete below and a buttress of sizable concrete blocks, eight on each side of the 40-foot-wide tipping floor, which serve to anchor it all together.

While the height of the dome, roughly 40-feet from floor to ceiling, may be an eye-opener in itself, its just part of the plan.

And, the upgrade underway is actually ahead of schedule, according to Troy Lautenbach, co-owner of Lautenbach Enterprises, the Skagit County-based garbage, recycling and demolition company that assumed control of the Sutton Road site in early June.

We have 18 months to make the improvements required under our contract and agreement with the county, Lautenbach said, Weve accomplished what weve done so far in seven months. It all goes with turning whats been a drop-box facility back into a transfer station.

Which is what the town of Friday Harbor, as well as many other large-scale local haulers of trash and debris, has been waiting for.

The town, owner of the 26-acre former landfill on Sutton Road, opted a number of years ago to send its trash-haul trucks to the mainland, initially to avoid escalating prices at the solid-waste facility, run at that time by the county, a routine that persisted after the site was converted into a drop-box-only operation due, in part, to lingering problems of tainted stormwater run-off and the absence of a cover over the tipping floor.

Administrator Duncan Wilson foresees more efficient, cost-effective use of-town personnel and utility equipment once state and local health inspectors give a final okay on Lautenbachs improvements, operational plan and then issue the permit to operate the site as a transfer station.

If all goes according to plan, Troy Lautenbach said that final okay should soon be in place.

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Lofty dome signals pending return of 'transfer station' status