Parkside Homes officials meet with commissioners

     Lu Janzen and Glenn Thiessen with Parkside Homes met with Marion County commissioners Monday to share their concerns about a proposed solid waste agreement.      Part of the agreement specifies that any dwelling with full kitchen and sleeping facilities be charged for trash as separate residences instead of at a commercial rate.      Janzen said at least 50 percent of their residents go out to eat or participate in congregate meals provided by the facility, even though all 73 units have full kitchens.      KC Development, which owns the transfer station, says such independent living centers always should have been charged as separate residences. The original contract with the county, signed in 1996, calls for the company to receive a set fee based on each residence and commercial business, not the amount of trash generated. The contract expires in 2006.      New disposal rates will be $7.05 per month for residents and $10.80 per month for businesses, plus city and hauler fees.      Janzen said Parkside Homes would see an increase of more than $500 per month just in solid waste disposal fees definition. This doesn't count city fees to pick up the trash and take it to the transfer station.      "I'm concerned about what this is doing to older people on fixed incomes," Janzen said. Anytime charges increase, it can have an affect on obtaining or keeping residents, she added.      "We have other facilities with concerns, too," said Bob Hein, commissioner. Most independent living centers and subsidized housing units in the county have been paying commercial rates.      "We're doing our job, as far as recycling, but we can't afford to spend wages on that if the rates go up," Thiessen said.      Commissioners were sympathetic but didn't indicate any plans to change the agreement.       "We're between you, the cities, and the transfer station," said Chairman Leroy Wetta. "It's a negotiating position, and I don't know there's any negotiating room left."      Commissioner Howard Collett said that whatever the commissioners' personal feelings, the contract signed by prior commissions had to be honored.      "Is there hope for the future? We don't know," he said. "We would like to help you."      "It's not going to get any cheaper," Hein said.      They did note that a unit needed a full kitchen to be considered a residence. A kitchenette wouldn't meet that criteria, they said.      In a related matter, commissioners will hold a special meeting today, Wednesday, for a conference call with the attorneys handling the county's solid waste issues.      Commissioners will meet Thursday for end of the month business. They are not scheduled to meet Monday.