Post Falls council to extend citizen survey

POST FALLS - The Post Falls City Council is expected to approve contracts tonight to extend the National Citizen Survey and for a new company to haul and compost biosolids from the wastewater plant.

The cost for the citizen survey would be $9,900, the same as it was nearly two years ago.

The project was included in the city's budget for 2012.

The survey conducted by the National Research Center in Boulder, Colo., has helped the city prioritize the budget, improve services, encourage civic engagement and build public trust.

In the last survey, 429 out of 1,200 households responded, a rate of 36 percent. City officials were pleased with the rate.

In other business, the council is expected to approve a five-year contract with Barr-Tech, LLC, of Sprague, Wash., for $313,000 per year to remove biosolids from the water reclamation plant.

The current vendor, Parker Ag, is ceasing operations this month because it can no longer land apply in Washington due to environmental restrictions.

Barr-Tech's cost is $24 more per ton, but it has that state's blessing to operate as a composting operation for landscape and agricultural customers.

The city's yearly budget allowance for biosolids removal is $325,000.

There are no public hearings tonight. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at 408 N. Spokane St.