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1991-04-04 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING APRIL 4,1991 4:05 p.m. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT STEPHEN BORGOS-SUPERVISOR GEORGE KUROSAKA-COUNCILMAN MARILYN POTENZA-COUNCILMAN RONALD MONTESI -COUNCILMAN BETTY MONAHAN-COUNCILMAN TOWN ATTORNEY PAUL DUSEK TOWN OFFICIALS Paul Naylor, Jim Coughlin, John Goraski, Lee York, Ralph VanDusen, Pat Collard, Kathleen Kathe PRESS: Channel 8, WWSC, G.F. Post Star PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY SUPERVISOR BORGOS PUBLIC HEARING - PROPOSED LOCAL LAW ON RECYCLING NOTICE SHOWN 4:10 p.m. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-We'll open the public hearing on the proposed local law on recyling and to save some time, I hope, we'll call on our Town Attorney now whose been responsible for drafting this, who has also been working at the County level and to some extent at the State level, has attended to some meetings with me in Albany, Senator Stafford's office and Assemblyman D' Andrea's office. I'll call on the Town Attorney to explain what it is we have before us and why it is here and what the impact is going to be. ATTORNEY DUSEK-The proposed local law that was presented to the Board and that is subject to the hearing today is a local law which provides for the mandatory source separation and segregation of recyclable materials or reusable materials from solid waste. In other words, if this law is enacted by the Board at a certain point in time it will become necessary for all citizens and businesses in the Town of Queensbury when disposing of trash or garbage to pull from that trash or garbage certain recyclable items. The law defines what those items will be. Basically they will consist of newsprint, which many people are currently are already pulling from the waste stream. Clear glass containers, tin cans, plastic containers, garden and yard waste. It's not so much that that would show up ordinarily in the trash but its just going to be the type of thing that is going to be isolated and brought to designated locations seperately at this point. Motor vehicle batteries, motor vehicle tires, scrap metal, miscellenous iron, steel, white metals. Much of this is going on already. For instance when somebody brings a washing machine up to the landfill it's not simply tossed into the landfill but rather it's placed in a pile with other things and later disposed of by the Town seperately. So some of these items have already been occuring, some of these will be new. Some of these will be graduated in, some items they may find that they take out of the required recycling. But at least in the first instance, this gives you a general idea to the types of items that the Town will be looking to pull away from the ordinary disposal of your garbage or trash. Basically the law provides that the individual has the obligation to seperate it and it also imposes on haulers of waste obligations not to drop off solid waste at the landfill for disposal which has recyclables mixed into it. The regulations would impose fines and penalties for people who violate it. In the first instance however, the law provides only a warning would be issued so that people wouldn't recieve a fine necessarily right off the bat. Secondarily the law puts a little heavier of an obligation on the Town in terms of fining a violation against a hauler. It requires that we prove that the hauler knowingly mixed them. Because we could a situation where somebody could mix the recycable items and the rest of the trash and the hauler might not know it, he brings it up to the landfill and dumps it and at that point, if we just simply said anything mixed, causes a violation, it wouldn't be fair to the hauler if he didn't know about it. But if we proved that he did know about, he would also be subject to a fine. In addition to that the law also provides for an educational aspect so that the public will be informed as to what it is and how recycling should be accomplished. It will be up to this Board if they want to also give some sort of time frames in which they want to provide before this law should take effect. Finally the last aspect I think I should point out is that importantly this law does not necessarily require that you bring your recyclables to any particular place. For instance if you have cans or newspapers or anything of that nature and you want to bring them to the landfill for disposal in given areas or boxes, you will be able to do that. However if you want to hang onto them and give them to a cub scout or boyscout paper drive or bring them back to the stores to get refunds, you will be able to do that. The Town is not demanding that you give up control of something or if you can sell it to somebody and pick up money for it, you'll be able to do that as well. So it's basically just seperating the items so that all of this is not deposited at the landfill. SUPERVISOR BORGOS- Thank you. Any questions? COUNCILMAN MONTESI -Just a couple of questions Paul, in terms of my own personal concerns and also some of the residents. Paper is recycable, paper in terms of newspaper, we are presently doing that at the landfill and I think that folks understand that it can't be shiny paper and it can't be color paper, it's just black and white that we are recycling. What happens when Jim Coughlin, when we put this into effect, lets say, you have a small office or a one person attorney's office and he takes his trash up to the landfill. Obviously he understands that cans go some place, bottles go some place, but lets say he has newspapers, computer paper and he has office paper, there's three kinds of paper. Are we going to get that finate at this point? How will we seperate that out and maybe that's a question that Jim has to deal with now? Ideally I would presume that what we're going to have in our landfill whether it's going to the burn plant or the landfill, is garbage if you will. Kitchen garbage from a restaurant, kitchen garbage from a home, food spoils are going to go in the landfill or the burn plant. All most everything else will be hopefully recycable, from tires on. But my concern initially is, many residents will be going up to the landfill with 3 or 4 different kinds of paper, how do we handle that? Cardboard and paper. ATTORNEY DUSEK-This is something that the law does not get into detail in addressing but it does a mechanism for addressing that question. It empowers the director, whoever the Board appoints as director for control of this program, to suggest and the Town Board can adopt rules and regulations which would address that very issue. It also is designed such that if you find that something is not practical, not working out, that you'll be able to make changes. So it doesn't address your particular question but it provides a mechanism whereby it can be addressed. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-Okay, with that initial statement and the one question from Mr. Montesi, let's open this to the public. Anyone may ask questions or make comments. Please come foward to the microphone and state your name and address and say whatever you would like or ask whatever you would like and direct your questions to anyone you would like. I presume most of you are here for this issue. JOHN MCFEE, Bay Road-If! didn't come to this meeting how would I have know what to recycle? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-This meeting is the public hearing to discuss the mechanisms and today we will have a small list of what to recycle. Following this as was just pointed out by our Attorney, the director of the recycling program will make recommendations to the Town Board and from time to time, different items hopefully will be added to the list. That should be covered in the news media. There will be publications produced by this office sent out to a variety of people. I'm sure we'll take ads in the paper. I'm sure we'll post notices at the landfill. So there will be a lot of public education. We have our 2 county solid waste people here, Dan Kane and Bob Link, are with Jim Coughlin in the back and they are also conducting a public education program through out the County. So there will be lots of information telling you what to recycle and where. MR. MCFEE-Before this comes into effect? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-That's a good question. One of the things we're to do today is decide when this should be effective. I have no idea what the final finding is going to be today but my hope is that there would be a period of time, a relative short period of time during which that information can get out and people will know. MR. MCFEE-Will this eventually cover everything that we have to throwaway? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-It would be ideal if we take a 100 percent. MR. MCFEE-But I mean if I go down to the landfill and I have something that is not on the list and somebody tells me I can't throw it in the landfill? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-If it's not on the list they can't tell you, you can't throw it in the landfill. MR. MCFEE-That's it? SUPERVISOR BORGOS- That's it. Thank you. COUNCILMAN MONAHAN-Steve, relative to that, I might say that Jim Coughlin and I spent some time last night with the Environmental Advisory Committee working on how they're going to publicize our hazardous waste collection day, which I believe the day is May 11th. Am I correct on that? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-I believe that's correct. COUNCILMAN MONAHAN-There will be flyers prepared for that and means have been set in motion once there prepared to distribute them through the area in profuse quantities so you are going to know exactly what you're doing and where you're going to do it and how you're going to do it. I would assume we are going to need some lead time after we adopt this local law if we do, for us to do the same thing on ordinary recycling and I would imagine that one of the best mechanism would be that the landfill on Ridge Road, the transfer station on Luzerne Road, there will be places in Glens Falls this information will be put. So I would see that we would really go to work and widely disemenate this information so people know precisely what they're doing, how to do it and what has to be done in great detail. COUNCILMAN MONTESI-Also Steve if there's a delay on enacting this, it may be simply that we want to coordinate the Queensbury Glens Falls Landfill Recycling Program, a copy of our resolution went down to the City and they will be enacting something similar or hopefully exactly the same resolution so that the job of administrating at the landfill, what's coming in from both Glens Falls and Queensbury will be identical. So that we don't have that confusion but if we have a delay in enacting it, it might be to try and coordinate the dates with the City and us. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-Sure and again I'll ask our Attorney, we're under a considerable amount pressure from the State to do this, so it's not like we can wait a month or two or three months. I think we're probably looking at a matter of weeks. Is that correct? ATTORNEY DUSEK-Originally the Department of Environmental Conservation as part of their handling of the landfill closure issue had directed that the Town adopt some sort oflegislation in this regard by February 28th. The Town of Queensbury did not primarily because we were waiting to see the legislation that would be adopted by the County which adopted legislation on March 15th. Thereafter we begin working on our legislation which is now before you. At this point DEC has indicated that as long as the municipalities adopted something by May 1st, they would feel comfortable. However the way they have phrased it, at least as I understand it so far, it simply won't enforce the provision of our previous consent order that required us to have something by February 28th. So my advice to this Board has been to move along as quickly as you can, although certainly, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to adopt something right this minute tonight. I think you have a week or so before you actually adopt the legislation, a couple of weeks maybe as to implementation in terms of when it will be ... there's one phase which is adopting the actual law. There's a second part of it, how will it effect the citizens of the community and I think you have some flexability in both areas. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-How much flexability might we guess? Could we be looking at a date as late as May 1st which is only 3 1/2 weeks away or as late as June 1st? What do you think is something they will accept? COUNCILMAN MONAHAN-I think we're talking to implement it Paul, when we put mandatory recycling in effect. ATTORNEY DUSEK-I think adoption of the law will help in a large extent to actually determine an implementation date. I would like to get some feed back perhaps from the Board today and recommend to you that you don't actually adopt the law today but give me the type of feed back as to when you would like to set your time tables and then let me see if I can go back and work that out. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-Because there is an effective date in here obviously as you know of April 1st. That's my concern, is what date should we try to put in there. ATTORNEY DUSEK-I think what I would like to recommend is that you establish time frames that you feel, in the first instance, that you are comfortable with and then let me see if I can work those into an acceptable schedule with DEC and any other laws that may effect us. The State law I think we're pretty flexalbe, we have until 92. The biggest obligation is with DEC. COUNCILMAN MONTESI-Can we say that we want to enact the law as of, let's say April 15th and we want to enforce the law as of May 1st or May 15th? ATTORNEY DUSEK-Yes. COUNCILMAN MONTESI-Okay, so we can do it in 2 stages, if you will? ATTORNEY DUSEK-Yes. COUNCILMAN MONTESI-Alright, so we're showing good intent by saying we're enacting the law and then we're going to enforce the law a month later. ATTORNEY DUSEK-Right. COUNCILMAN POTENZA-I think that's a realistic time table. It certainly is a 5 week notification of what will be recycled and what can be recycled and it's not new. I mean we've had very active participation by community people in the recycling program already. So I think that time table certainly would be acceptable to me. COUNCILMAN KUROSAKA-I agree. COUNCILMAN MONAHAN-I think people need to realize that what we're going to be recycling mainly is what Warren County has contracts of what to dispose, that we're not just gathering stuff for the sake of gathering but that Warren County will have actual contracts to dispose of these recycables that we're collecting. We also realize that even though that the effective date of mandatory recycling is such and such a date, even beyond that date we realize that people need some time to become familar with the law, to do everything completely correctly. I mean we expect everybody to try but we know it's going to take a while for them to understand it and do it complete and do it correctly. SUPERVISOR BORGOS-I think everyone should also understand that we recognize that this is going to be inconvenient for everyone, probably for the rest of our lives. We have no choice and our family has been doing it for probably close to a year now, others have been doing it longer. It's going to change everyone's lifestyle. If you look at the ads in the newspaper, everyone now is selling recycable containers. I mean this is the big thing, its here to say. We don't enjoy as a governmental agency imposing further regulations on your lifestyle. We have no choice. We're under a State mandate to do this, society says we must to this and we have to go through the process. We get no thrill out of putting extra rules and regulations up there so you have to understand that. COUNCILMAN MONAHAN-But I think we also realize that this is a necessity if we're going to have a habitable climate in the years to come for the generations to come, that we owe something to the generations that are going to follow us. Being brought up on a farm, I've recycled all my life so it's nothing new to me and I don't find it that much of a bother. COUNCILMAN MONTESI-The other factor that we all have to recognize is, aside from inconvenience, is cost. Right now, I think we talked about this the other night, a yard of waste at the landfill is 9 dollars. That's are fee presently. If you figure out the cost of the tipping fee that they initially started talking about at the burn plant, that would relate to about 27 dollars. So the average pickup truck that goes up to the landfill right now pays 9 dollars, that will be 27 dollars when the burn plant comes on line. That's the figures that they were dealing with before they got into this issue of the 22 million dollar over run, whatever that number is. It's going to be a very expensive proposition, so the only way we can reduce, you and I, the cost of going to the landfill, would be the stuff that goes to the recycling, is free to us. I mean you bring your glass up there, your cans, that's free. The only thing you'll be paying for is that bag that is not recycable and presently that's 3 dollars. Right? SUPERVISOR BORGOS-Three dollars per car starting Monday. It's 2 dollars, if you do your cleaning, do it this weekend, it's 2 dollars per car or pickup truck. Starting Monday it becomes 3 dollars. COUNCILMAN MONTESI- RESOLUTION REGARDING HAZARDOUS WASTE DAY RESOLUTION NO. 209, 1991, Introduced by Mr. Ronald Montesi who moved for its adoption, seconded by Mrs. Betty Monahan. RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby authorizes the Town Supervisor to print and distribute documents, posters and brochures related to Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup Day on May 11th, 1991 at a cost not to exceed $1,000.00, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Supervisor is authorized to select the appropriate Landfill Account against which to charge this disbursement and submit for normal audit. Duly adopted this 4th day of April, 1991, by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Kurosaka, Mrs. Potenza, Mr. Montesi, Mrs. Monahan, Mr. Borgos NOES: None ABSENT: None RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF SOUTH QUEENSBURY VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY EXPANSION RESOLUTION NO. 212, 1991, Introduced by the Entire Town Board. WHEREAS, the South Queensbury Volunteer Fire Company has presented a proposal to the Town Board whereby their facilities would be expanded at a cost not to exceed $700,000.00 and plans have been presented to the Town Board showing that expansion, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury in accordance with the authority vested in it by virtue of it's contract with the Fire Company hereby indicates its approval of the expansion with this approval to be in an approval of the expansion only and not in any fashion to represent a consent of the Town Board to become obligated directly in any financial commitments. Duly adopted this 4th day of April, 1991, by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Kurosaka, Mrs. Potenza, Mr. Montesi, Mrs. Monahan, Mr. Borgos NOES: None ABSENT: None