Solid Waste Advisory Commission

Athens-Clarke County Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee Wednesday, May 11, 2022 Present at Meeting: Commissioner Patrick Davenport, Jere Bowden, Jared Harper, Abigail West, Jenn Dunlop, Taylor Maddalene, Josh Edwards, Suki Janssen, Joe Dunlop, Freddie Hardy, and Susan Lyon (minutes). I. Welcome and Introductions Commissioner Davenport called meeting to order at 5:37 pm. II. Approval of Minutes: May 11, 2022 Jared made a motion to approve minutes as presented; seconded by Jere, Approved unanimously. I1I. Public Comments - None III. Division Reports (ATTACHMENT I) Printed reports given to members in attendance for review. RMPF baler is down. Replacement baler is ordered for installation in the summer and the facility will be down for a few weeks during that time. IV. Old Business  AAH – was completed a couple of weeks ago. 4 bags, 1 recycling trash collected. Susan will send out another invite by the end of the week. Possible once a month clean-ups until the area is clean.  Black Lives Matter Resolution – Holding the RFP until staff can consult with an environmental attorney. Blaine Williams, ACCGov Manager, brought a historical preservation group to the site to discuss options for the school house at the landfill.. Next step is for ACCGov to survey the area to determine if the school house can be moved or can ACCGov deed the piece of land to the church.  By-Laws – Currently waiting on the agenda item to the M&C to be discussed and voted on.  Plastic Bags resolution – on hold until next quarterly meeting. No data is available to determine how ACC is doing with plastic bag recycling. This would require an audit on material going into the landfill. Research has determined approximately 2 million plastic bags are used per month in ACC from groceries, box stores, and convenience stores. Susan to resend Conner’s presentation from last year to the committee.  Regional Management Plan – approved by all counties V. New Business  Agenda Report – The Solid Waste Advisory Committee is currently an ad-hoc committee. There is an agenda item for M&C to consider changing group to official BAC (board, authority, or commission). Commission Davenport put the motion on hold so he could receive feedback from committee members. Currently proposal is for 10-member body, each member appointed by a commissioner. Commissioner Davenport recommends 7 member body, 2 honorary members, 1 chair.  Jared likes community volunteers serving as members. Jere likes the set-up of the current committee. Abigail recommends a change in title with “Waste Reduction” instead of Solid Waste. No staff on committee; resident-based to prevent conflict of interests with decision making process. ACCGov staff to serve in support roles. Voting on motions by members only. Committee should meet more often than quarterly in order to respond to projects charged to the committee by the Mayor. If the recommendation proceeds with 10 members, applications will be accepted and the candidates will be interviewed by M&C and then selected. If the recommendation is 7 members, they will be appointed by the Mayor. Need to ensure that the group has cross representation of the community, including those serviced by private haulers. Currently proposed term limits of two (2) years. Commissioner Davenport is recommending four (4) years. Another option: Keep an ad-hoc Solid Waste Advisory Committee and create a new stand-alone committee to handle each topic individually. Once topic is addressed, new committee is created for next topic of business. Members could be appointed by Mayor. Abigail feels strongly about meeting more often. Staff time supporting the board should be taken into consideration when deciding the committee's recommendation. Commissioner Davenport to speak to Suki. Commissioner Davenport's recommendation is to create a waste reduction BAC with by-laws and dissolve the ad-hoc committee. A ten (10) member plus chair BAC would require a six (6) member quorum and a seven (7) member plus chair BAC would require a (4) member quorum. Any recommendation sent to the Mayor and Commission must be passed by a quorum. All BAC meetings must be streamed live and posted on the ACC website. Commissioner Davenport to write a commission defined option for June meeting with a seven (7) member BAC with equal representation from inside and outside the urban service district. He will consult with Sherrie Hines, ACCGov attorney.  Joe discussed new CHaRM fees. Commissioner Davenport would like to see the CHaRM budget come from General fund and not charge fees. Currently the landfill revenues are not keeping up with expenditures. The Mayor's FY23 recommended budget does feature moving operations to the General fund, including a new fulltime position requested by department.  Next Repair Cafe on Sunday, May 22. Jared made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Taylor seconded; passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 6:51 pm. Next meeting is scheduled for August 17, 2022. Respectfully submitted by Susan Lyon:08.17.22 Unanimously approved 08.17.22