Creswell Council Moves to Exit County Waste Fee Agreement Over Cost Concerns

CRESWELL — City Manager Vincent Martorello now has the council's direction to formally exit Lane County's solid waste intergovernmental agreement, following a March 26 council vote driven by a $15-per-ton landfill cost gap that hauler Sanipac warned could force a rate increase on city residents.

The dispute centers on the county's System Benefit Fee, a countywide charge that effectively controls where contract haulers deliver garbage. Sanipac had been routing Creswell's waste to its own Dry Creek facility near Medford at roughly $97 per ton, undercutting the $112-per-ton rate at Short Mountain Landfill just outside Creswell. Once Lane County asserted its authority under the intergovernmental agreement, Sanipac reversed course and returned to Short Mountain.

With Creswell generating roughly 2,500 tons of waste annually, that $15-per-ton gap represents approximately $37,500 in potential annual savings that currently stay inside the county's system rather than flowing back to local garbage bills. Sanipac representative and Creswell resident Aaron Donley told the council the company had been absorbing the extra haul cost so far, but made clear the math had a limit. "We've been absorbing the extra cost of hauling to Short Mountain," Donley said, "but if Creswell stays in the IGA, those costs become significant enough that we'd probably have to come forward and ask for a rate adjustment."

Lane County, which is negotiating separately with Sanipac over SBF terms, asked Creswell to postpone any action until those talks conclude. County officials warned that departure could trigger closures of transfer stations and a narrowing of recycling programs that the SBF currently funds across the region's 15 transfer stations. Martorello's memo to the council stated the city had communicated to both parties that Creswell did not wish to be placed in the middle of the county-Sanipac negotiations or held to an uncertain timeline.

Martorello framed the council's real choice plainly: "The options are really to postpone the termination of the IGA or to terminate it." Mayor Nick Smith was sharper in characterizing the county's warnings about service cuts. "I feel they're trying to use this IGA and put it over heads to see what could happen, and kind of try and intimidate because that's how I feel," Smith said.

The council chose termination. The county's SBF structure already carries scheduled increases of 8 percent in 2024 and 2025, followed by 6 percent annually through 2027, adding urgency to the city's rate-stability argument. Councilors also pointed to the county's troubled CleanLane resource recovery project, where Lane County signed contracts before securing land for the facility, as evidence that Creswell ratepayers should not be tethered to the county's infrastructure planning.

The March 26 action authorizes Martorello to pursue formal termination but does not complete it. Staff will now develop side-by-side cost projections, finalize contract terms with Sanipac, and assess the operational risks of separating from county waste infrastructure. A follow-up work session and public hearings are expected before any new arrangement takes effect.