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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Clean City Advisory Committee - 02/05/2009 RECEIVED MAR062009 Clean City Advisory Committee Minutes of February 5, 2009 CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE Meeting opened at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the 6th floor Conference Room, City Hall. The following members were present: Mikell Smith, Paul Anthony Castorena, Brian Cornelius, Brenda Cuvelier, and John Elford. The following members were absent: Daiquiri Richard, Paige Dinn, and Joan Veith. The following City staff was present: Paul Bass. Regular Business: Brenda Cuvelier made the motion to approve the January minutes. John Elford seconded the motion,which was voted on and passed by the committee. Public Comment:No public comment was made. Discussion over the committee absence procedure was initiated. Paul Bass announced that Patricia Garcia had resigned from the committee. Brian Cornelius had an excused absence for the January meeting. Anthony Castorena made a motion to approve Brian's absence as excused. The motion was seconded by Brenda Cuvelier and approved by the committee. Daiquiri Richard and Paige Dinn had notified Paul Bass prior to this February 5 meeting so that their absences may be excused at the next meeting. No committee member present had heard from Joan Veith regarding her absence from this day's meeting. Mikell Smith initiated discussion over the Keep America Beautiful Litter Index Survey. Once the survey date is scheduled, the committee will review a training video regarding the survey procedure. Anthony Castorena suggested that the video be made available for individual viewing, but Brenda Cuvelier reminded the committee of the previous meeting's discussion of viewing the video as a group. Paul Bass stated that the video should be viewed the same day as the survey. In cooperation with the City's Solid Waste Operations, Mikell stated that the committee has gained access to some maps and GIS information to aid the survey. It was found that Solid Waste Operations' current brush routes are broken up into suitable scoring areas for the survey. The City has been divided into 5 sections, within these sections there are 20 routes. Out of these 100 areas, the committee could select 20 of them to survey. John Elford inquired about how long the survey should take. The committee agreed that they would accomplish what they could as a group in one day. Then, find another day to follow up with the remaining areas that were missed. It was stated that the committee must have at least 4-6 members to conduct the survey under KAB guidelines. The committee will plan for all 8 members to attend. It was agreed that due to scheduling conflicts, that the committee will conduct the survey on Saturday, March 7, 2009. This will allow for the committee to review the guidelines at the regular March meeting before the scheduled survey date. There was a discussion regarding how it would be determined which areas of the City would be surveyed. Mikell offered to identify the survey areas, a comment that was made into a motion by John Elford and seconded by Brian Cornelius. Motion passed. SCANNED r Mikell Smith initiated discussion over whether the committee would support recommendation for the City Council to pass a resolution to support State legislation to require producers of electronics and computers to participate in "take back" recycling programs. John Elford asked how the committee can go about supporting the recommendation. Brenda Cuvelier expressed some concerns with moving forward without feedback from all committee members. Mikell suggested that committee volunteers research the subject and discuss it at the next meeting. Anthony Castorena made a motion to table this discussion until the next meeting. The motion was seconded by Brenda and approved. Mikell Smith initiated discussion regarding the committee's recommendation to the City Council in appointing a replacement Clean City Advisory Committee member. After reviewing the applications, each committee member offered their top two recommendations for appointment. After individual recommendations were offered, John Elford moved to recommend the top two applicants: Doug Ingram and Theresa Klein. The motion was seconded by Brian Cornelius and approved. Discussion was initiated over the community's use of plastic shopping bags and other environmental issues. There was concern over the amount of debris produced from plastic shopping bags if they are not tied when disposed of. Paul Bass updated the committee on the proposed Solid Waste Operations recycling program changes. He stated that the department isn't ready to present recommended changes to City Council at this time. The delay is largely attributable to the economy's effect on the recycled commodities market. Proposed changes affecting garbage and recycling services will be included in the March utility bill insert to update residents on where the City is in this process. The department plans to move forward with a presentation to Council, but it will be pushed back at least until March or April. Anthony Castorena asked how long it would take before Council could act on this issue. Paul stated that the next City Council elections are in April and they may not be able to move forward until the new Council has been elected. Anthony Castorena inquired about what areas the City would launch the program in once given the opportunity. Paul stated that the City is small enough to be able to implement the entire program for the City at one time. Mikell Smith inquired about the proposed Recycle Bank project. Paul replied that the concept is still being considered, but it's believed that the initial project alone will generate enough enthusiasm to make the program a success. Recycle Bank could be used at a later date to increase interest and participation in recycling. Paul also stated that the department has the results back of a survey that it sent out in regards to the new programs, and 1300 responses out of 5,000 surveys mailed were received. The survey results were overwhelmingly positive that the citizens were in favor of participating in a pilot program that would collect garbage on one side of the street if they could also see that that may help defer or reduce future rate increases. They were also in favor of a larger recycle container with the understanding that garbage pickup would only be once a week. The surveys represented five garbage routes in each of the five council districts. Agenda items for the next meeting include: KAB litter index survey, electronic waste recycling, plastic bags, proposed changes to the recycling program, and the recommendation for City Council to pass a resolution to support State legislation requiring e-waste take back programs. Paul Bass offered to keep the committee updated on the recycling program changes. The motion to adjourn was made by John Elford and seconded by Brian Cornelius. Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.