Rahn Sanitary of Enterprise is coming out smelling like a rose as the cities of Wallowa County deal with the stink of budget cuts that ended county solid waste transfer stations.

Wallowa County Commissioners announced in late May that they would be forced to close all five transfer locations by the end of June. The Ant Flat Landfill and Fish Hatchery Lane recycle station in Enterprise will remain in service.

Brian and Amanda Rahn, owners of Rahn Sanitary in Enterprise, contacted Joseph, Lostine and Wallowa and offered options.

Under consideration was creating a city garbage service and taking bids from a La Grande sanitary service, but in the end handing off the responsibility to a trusted local company for a reasonable price won the day.

Rahn Sanitary will now have a contract for service with every city in the valley.

“All of the transfer sites will be operated basically the same,” said Brian Rahn. “It’s been great working with the communities. What we want is to be able to provide more options for the county to get rid of their waste.”

County commissioners attended all meetings at which their presence was requested to provide full information and answer questions.

Although concerns were similar in each city, councils took slightly different approaches.

Joseph City Council added the trash discussion to its regular June 1 council agenda immediately after receiving the news from the county and made a decision that night.

Rahn’s presentation of options and willingness to create open contracts that could be modified as needs were discovered were key in helping the council make a swift decision

“It may be a temporary solution, but we hope it’s permanent,” said Mayor Dennis Sands.

The proposal accepted from Rahn calls for a fee of $8 for one can of refuse and $4 for a second one if hauled at the same time to the Joseph Airport transfer station. The county had been charging $5 per can for refuse.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

Enterprise’s Ant Flat Landfill continues to charge $5 a can for now.

The City of Lostine scheduled a town hall June 5 to hear public opinion and seek solutions. Council members made their decision at the regular city council meeting June 7. The city found Rahn’s proposal competitively priced and significantly lower than La Grande bids, said city recorder Toni Clary.

Lostine has entered into negotiations with the county to purchase its transfer sight with the intent of leasing it to Rahn. The deed to the site requires the site remain a transfer site.

Although the negotiations are ongoing, the city has given Rahn the “go” to work on permits from DEQ.

The hours of service in Lostine will be Saturdays only 9 a.m. to noon.

Wallowa held two standing-room-only meetings with the public to allow every concerned citizen to participate in the discussion. The last meeting, June 13, ran three hours as approximately 60 folks, and two county commissioners examined ideas.

In the end, the decision was the same as the other cities. Nobody could beat Rahn’s offer.

“The decision came pretty much from the public,” said councilman Garrett Lowe.

“I think the community felt good about Rahn doing it,” agreed city recorder Carol Long.

Rahn Sanitary will lease the Wallowa transfer site, which the city owns. The county will continue to hold the DEQ permit until Rahn secures its own. Some cleanup at the site is ongoing.

The transfer station will be open to everyone in the lower valley, not just the residents of the town of Wallowa, Lowe said. The Wallowa transfer station will have the same schedule as the Joseph station, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays 9 a.m. to noon. The cost will be $8 for the first can and $4 for the second.

All cities expressed a desire for recycling services at their transfer sites, but no such services are currently available.

A sheet outlining various costs for yard debris, 50-gallon loads and other services at transfer centers is available at city hall in both Joseph and Wallowa.

The county has decided to continue to service the two remote communities of Troy and Imnaha for now.

“What those communities work out is yet to be seen,” said Commissioner Todd Nash. “I’d like to meet with anyone in the community who would like to talk to me about solutions.”

Brian Rahn said that his company would be more than happy to service those communities if the demand was there but that it would be an expensive undertaking.