Solid Waste Advisory Commission

Athens-Clarke County Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee Wednesday, Febraury 17, 2021 via WebEx Present at Meeting: Commissioner Patrick Davenport, Larry Dendy, Michael Brugger, Jere Bowden, Suki Janssen, Jenn Dunlop, Mason Towe, and Susan Lyon (minutes). I. Welcome Commissioner Davenport called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm. II. Approval of Minutes: November 18, 2020 Jared made a motion to approve minutes as presented; seconded by Larry, approved unanimously. III. Public Comments - Larry thanked Suki for an excellent recycling presentation to an UGA Ollie class. IV. Division Reports (ATTACHMENT I & II) Suki and Joe reviewed division reports. Addressed a concern expressed by Jere regarding the Mall drop-off site. That site is the most challenging and accounts for ½ of the material collected at all drop-off sites combined. Staff is trying to step up presence at the site to try and reduce illegal dumping. There is a discussion about placing cameras at the site in the future. We are rebranding the roll-offs at the drop-off sites with freshly painted blue containers with fewer stickers and a more clear message. Collections Division currently is under-staffed and all of our supervisors have been in trucks during the last four weeks. ACC has not had to change or cancel any routes or services due to COVID. Collections now has four new automated trucks, with three of them being wrapped with recycling and KACCB messages. On the upcoming M&C agendas this month and next month, we are seeking approval for the purchase of two more automated trucks for back-up and one front-end loader. Neighborhood Clean-up Fund currently is being used to cover disposal from homeless camp clean ups. During the last two months, we have had 122 bags of trash and 5 tons of litter removed from active or abandoned camps around the community. KACCB has put together a safety video for volunteers to watch before going in for a clean-up. Solid Waste is asking for more money in the upcoming fiscal year to deal with trash removal from homeless camps. In regards to landfill appointments, it is the goal of the department to eliminate the appointments in late spring as COVID cases decrease in the area. No UGA report. V. Other Business Committee Name – (Suki) Due to social justice concerns over the past year, we have been asked by the Manager’s Office to look at altering the name of the committee that would eliminate the word “citizen” in order to be more inviting and more inclusive for the community. Patrick asked for everyone to brainstorm a new committee name and the committee will address it at the next meeting in May. Larry suggested Solid Waste Advisory Committee.  Suki introduced Jenn Dunlop. Jenn is interested in joining the committee. Committee By-laws have not been found by the Clerk of Commission or in any paper files located in Solid Waste. A history of the Committee can be found on the webpage. Adopt-A-Highway (Suki) – Bailey Street is currently adopted; however, other streets are available for adoption. Members expressed interest in adopting a road around the meeting place. Michael suggested making an announcement publicly to help recruit members. The next steps would be to select a road and fill out paperwork for KACCB. A final decision will be made next meeting. Black Lives Matter Resolution (Suki) – Patrick stated that Billups Grove Church is still interested in taking over the school where it is located on landfill property. Suki contacted the EPD and asked if they saw any issues with transferring a small parcel of land with the school house to Billups Grove Church. Functionally EPD did not see a problem. Now SW must get a new survey of that area to ensure that there is enough of a buffer to allow us to keep our landfill permit. The cost of the survey is approximately $15,000. Suki is waiting for a final survey quote and then SW would be required to file for a minor modification to our permit, which will cost approximately $10,000. Athens Historical Society still recommends moving the church. Everything has been sent to the ACC Attorney’s office to look into the legality of giving the school house to the church and am waiting on a report. Suki will move forward with the survey but no application for a minor modification will be sent until a decision is made about what to do with the building. The church wishes to restore the church and make it into a museum. Mayor and Commission will make the final decision on the location of the church. Patrick asked for an update on the Plastic Bag ordinance. Suki will request an update from the ACC Attorney’s assistant attorney Sherrie Hines. The matter was tabled during COVID. New Business By-laws have not been found for the committee but maybe we can ask each Commissioner to nominate someone from their district to the committee. Patrick will ask Jean if that is possible and report back. Jere made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Michael seconded; and the meeting was adjourned at 6:37 pm. Respectfully submitted by Susan Lyon: 05.26.21