The nightmare with Dynamis appears to be over, and the people of Ada County can be thankful for that. The resolution isn't perfect; commissioners agreed to eat the $2 million the county paid more than two years ago for the company to design a project to turn waste into energy at the landfill. But it was the most practical resolution under the circumstances.

Ada County could have looked at spending more than $2 million to fight any legal action. Dynamis claimed it could be out $70 million if the project didn’t go through. Under the agreement, Ada County won’t sue Dynamis and Dynamis won’t sue the county.

One thing left is rebuilding public trust, and it’s good to see Commission Chairman Dave Case recognize the need to do some repair work.

“The citizens did not feel like they were heard by the county,” Case said. “The county should have gone through the proper processes, and that did not happen.”

The project was approved in 2010 without a public hearing or information about the environmental impact. Former Commissioner Sharon Ullman, who was defeated last November, is viewed as the culprit for the Dynamis mess. But Commissioner Rick Yzaguirre, an early cheerleader, bears responsibility for the $2 million the county will never see again.

There are lessons to be learned, for sure. One is that the process — or lack of process — that went with Dynamis is a textbook example of how county commissioners should not conduct public business.

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