Commissioners on the joint powers authority overseeing local waste management will interview three applicants Tuesday vying for the board’s public seat.

The candidates for the public commissioner role on the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority board are Crescent City residents Michael Tompkins, Jesse Salisbury and Ellery West, according to the authority’s staff report.

The selected applicant will replace former public commissioner Eli Naffah.

This unpaid position lasts through September 2021, according to the report. Both the Crescent City Council and the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors must approve the selected applicant annually, according to the report.

The Solid Waste Management Authority Chair will ask each applicant the same questions, according to the report. Each may remain in the audience following the interview. The Solid Waste Management Authority Board will also take public comment following the interviews, according to the report.

Once the interviews are finished, the DNSWMA chair will receive motions from commissioners. A motion to close requires a 2-3rds vote to pass, including one vote from a city representative and one from a county representative, according to the staff report.

Any motion that passes with a majority vote and at least one vote from the city and county, the nominated person is the public commissioner and can take a seat at the dais. The public commissioner receives an iPad from the DNSWMA and reviews a briefing binder with the authority director.

In his application, Tompkins, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, states he has served in leadership roles at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for 30 years and has been in leadership positions with True North Organizing Network for five years.

In a letter to the JPA, Tompkins said he values “good participation and careful discernment” and works to stay informed and aware. He said he is prepared to give his involvement up to 10 hours a month and recognizes there will be a steep learning curve in the beginning.

Tompkins, who serves on True North’s Homelessness Organizing Committee, said he’s aware of the trash and pollution homelessness creates as well as health and safety issues surrounding those who are mentally ill and fighting addiction.

In his application, Salisbury said he has served on the Neighborhood Watch and the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office advisory committee. Salisbury said he has experience in electronics, plumbing, has served in the U.S. Marine Corp. and has participated in local government for 20 years.

Salisbury said he is interested in the Solid Waste Management Authority’s public position because it’s a chance to give something back.

According to his application, West is the CEO of Organic Essence Inc., holds more than 15 patents relating to consumer goods packaging and has interviewed in more than 20 radio broadcasts on environmental issues and plastic waste.

West founded Organic Essence in 2006 and Eco Vision Packaging in 2008 and states he is self educated. In his application, West said he is willing to devote six hours a month to the public commissioner position on the Solid Waste Management Authority Board.

“I would like to lend my perspective on environmental issues, particularly plastic waste,” West writes. “This experience could benefit my article writing and video production work on this increasingly important concern.”

The Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Flynn Center, 981 H Street in Crescent City. For more information, visit www.recycledelnorte.ca.gov.

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