INC NEWS - solid waste article in todays paper

[RW Pickle]

The article was in todays Herald Sun. It quoted our President and fellow
committee member Cheryl Shifflet. And I'm sending this out because I don't
feel the same way as the paper made it sound like they do. I support the
yard waste plan. Why? Because we don't really have a comprehensive plan at
this time and this gets us heading down the right road. It's not THE PLAN,
it's part of a bigger plan that over time I believe will see several
changes as other parts are implemented.

A little history. Back before we had the current subscriber plan, we had
nothing. And then we had a plan that has generally gotten more expensive
over time with the numbers of subscribers getting smaller. The current
plan does not pay for itself. And for it to keep working like it's doing,
it needs to do so (or yard waste pickup as we know it today will end). And
the break even point may come this year as new subdivisions come online.
But it's not the new subdivisions that make this city look so bad at
times. It's the older ones where participation in the current yard waste
program is minimal. And typically, these older (and often poorer)
neighborhoods are the breeding grounds for the illegal dumping that
plagues this City.

So what will the new plan do? It'll make yard waste pickup available for
everyone, not just the current subscriber base. That will amount to adding
75% of the City that currently does not subscribe to the current plan.
Then there is no reason to dump the stuff to avoid getting it hauled off
and the whole City gets better looking I'd think.

Additionally, they say they need 7 more people to do this. In talking to
Randy Smith who heads up the yard waste division, he says he really only
needs 2 more. But 1 of the 7 they say they need is the new solid waste
rule enforcer who will implement the new enforcement policies they
mentioned at the last INC meeting. So in my book, they really need three
new people to make it work. The other employees to run the operation are
already in place in the 11 person Impact Team. So with promotions (the new
slots will be filled with those with Class A drivers licenses), the 2 new
people needed will be at the entry level.

And what are these new people for? As best as I can see, they're for the
bulky item pickup crews. This is a new service, picking up bulky items
such as water heaters, couches, brush, that the City wants to implement to
clean this town up on a weekly basis. These are effecient vehicles to do
this with, but in this capacity, they are being disguised as bulky item
pick teams. But what they really are is emergengy management tools.

Last time we had the big storm come through here, the City spent somewhere
around $8.5 million to clean it up with contractors. These bulky item
trucks have really been purchased for that reason (and they'll all be here
in Sept; most are already here). So we can let these vehicles just be
parked somewhere until they are needed or we can put them to work getting
this town cleaned up. They had to put these vehicles in some department
and they ended up in solid waste. Good or bad, right or wrong, we have
them just waiting on the next big storm to come through. So in the mean
time, getting them out and cleaning up this town is their use. And one
they certainly come in handy for in doing the job.

So what else is there? Because the new yard waste plan will require three
times more carts than are now being picked up, this is a shot in the arm
for solid waste. They break even with the sale of the cart, but once they
figure in delivery and such, end up loosing money again. Plus, with all of
the carts they sell, the funds go back into the general fund and not to
solid waste to keep the cart program funded. Here again, good or bad,
carts will have to be purchased for everyone to get them. Will they be
free with the new plan? No. the cost will still be the same and that cost
added over time to the water billing. But what about the poor? Well, there
is a provision to help out those folks as well so no one is left out of
the plan.

Additionally, there is an additional expense that we have never really
discussed. This is on Roosevelt Carters' end where all of this stuff will
end up. If we start cleaning up this City, getting rid of all of the
visual clutter and illegal dumping, someone has to pick up the disposal
tab. How much will that be? I'm not sure what is budgeted for it but can
assure everyone that there will not be enough funding to get it all
cleaned up. Why? because no one really knows what it all will amount to
being at this point. But everyone knows it's out there. So that figure is
just a low guesstimate. Then, the additional yard waste will have to be
delt with. There is new machinery coming to deal with it as well. And the
free mulch give-a-way that happens once a year, I guess it'll happen more
often if necessary to get rid of the increased load of yard waste from the
city-wide program.

There are other things; like leaf vacuming. It will be started as a pilot
program to see how it works. But the bulk of all of the money they are
looking for in the current round of budget funding is primarily to hire
the people for the bulky item trucks (remember all of the new trucks will
be here in Sept.), carts for the citywide program, and an enforcement
person to help with the illegal dumping, carts left at curbs, grocery
carts, and mixed waste reduction for recycling. If they did anything here,
I'd like to see more enforcement personel. One person will only make a
dent.

My 2 cents from having been through all of the committee meetings as well.
We do have a new solid waste director on the way. No idea what his name
is, but he is an ex-marine from Detroit who has alot of solid waste
experience. Will he like the plan? Who knows. But time doesn't stop and
trash doesn't either. So some sort of plan has to keep moving forward to
make any headway with the problems we currently have. They will not get
better doing nothing. If you want a cleaner city, you have to add to the
currently available resources to get it. That's what solid waste has done
in their current budget.

You have to remember that this is not something they have just cooked up.
The yard waste issue is one INC brought to the table to get them to deal
with. Council told them to come up with a plan. If there was lack of
citizen input it wasn't because they weren't looking for it. Besides the
committee meetings, they went out to the PACs and held four public input
sessions around town at various times. Some of the latter meetings had no
one even show up. It's like I say. No one pays any attention to trash
until it is illegally dumped or not picked up. If it's all working like it
should, it all goes unnoticed.

I support what they're working to do and urge any and all of you to do the
same. If you have questions, they have been very straightforward in
answering them. The only problems I currently have with the enforcement
piece they will ask us to support at the next INC meeting is the number of
warnings and the minimal amout of the fines; $50. I'd like to see half as
many warnings (3 instead of 6) and the fine doubled to $100.

RWP
27 Beverly