The regular meeting of the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee of the County of Calhoun was held on Monday, January 10, 2005 at 4:30 p.m. at the Calhoun County Road Commission, 13300 Fifteen Mile Road, Marshall, Michigan 49068.
Committee Members Present: Arnold Arquette Steve Essling
John Bomba Tom Funke
Ken Kohs Marilyn Hennon
Gene Klisiak John LaForge (entered at 4:42 pm)
Also Present: Bob Overley, Calhoun County Environmental Health Department
Tiffany Eichorst, Calhoun County Solid Waste Director
Mary Jo Crumpton, Calhoun County Community Development
Chairman John Bomba called the meeting to order at 4:38 p.m.
Chairman John Bomba led the committee in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion made by Arnold Arquette to accept the meeting agenda. Supported by Ken
Kohs. Voice vote: motion carried.
Motion made by Steve Essling to accept the regular meeting minutes of November 8,
2004. Supported by Arnold Arquette. Voice vote: motion carried.
Elections for the SWMPC Chair and Vice Chair
Chairman Bomba requested a call for nominations for the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee Chair.
Motion made by Arnold Arquette to nominate Steve Essling for the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee Chair. Supported by Ken Kohs. Roll call vote: Essling abstain; Funke- no; Bomba abstain; Klisiak no; LaForge no; Arquette yes; Hennon no; Kohs no. Motion failed.
Motion made by Gene Klisiak to nominate John Bomba for the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee Chair. Supported by John LaForge. Roll call vote: Hennon yes; Essling yes; Funke yes; Klisiak yes; LaForge yes; Bomba abstained; Arquette no; Kohs yes. Motion carried.
Chairman Bomba requested a call for nominations for the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee Vice Chair.
Motion made by Ken Kohs to nominate Steve Essling for the Solid Waste Management Planning Committee Vice Chair. Supported by Arnold Arquette. Roll call vote: Essling abstain; Funke yes; Klisiak yes; Bomba yes; LaForge yes; Arquette yes; Hennon yes; Kohs yes. Motion carried.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FUND
Calhoun County Environmental Health Department: Bob Overley informed committee members that he is working on the 2005 dates for the Household Hazardous Waste Collections that will be held in the City of Albion, Eaton Corporation in Marshall and the City of Battle Creek. The HHW Collection dates for the City of Battle Creek location are Saturday, May 7 th and September 17 th .
Challenge Grant Program: Included in the agenda packet was the Calhoun County Solid Waste Management Fund Challenge Grant Program. At a past meeting, committee members asked that the Challenge Grant Program be put on the agenda for review, prior to the next application cycle. Chairman Bomba suggested that committee members review the program components and get their comments to Tiffany before the next meeting.
Arnold Arquette stated that you can't spend what you don't have and we need to get the budget back in order. This committee has been running in the red for the past few years. Discussion continued. Tiffany will provide financial reports at the next meeting.
Discussion took place on the Challenge Grant Program and the decline in the number of eligible applicants interested in submitting proposals.
Committee members discussed organizing a project, holding an event or a special collection in lieu of the Challenge Grant award. Suggestions included the following: a mercury collection, thermometer exchange, smoke detector disposal, etc. Chairman Bomba directed Tiffany to come up with some project ideas for the next meeting.
History of Challenge Grant Recipients: Also included in the packet was the history of the Challenge Grants awarded since 1997, grant recipients and grant amount.
CALHOUN COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Solid Waste 2005 Event Dates: Tiffany provided the following information on events scheduled for 2005:
• Spring Tire & Appliance Collection: will be held Wednesday, April 27 th through Saturday, April 30 th .
• Computer Collection: will be held on Saturday, June 18 th .
• Fall Tire & Appliance Collection: Monday, September 26 th Friday, September 30 th .
Compost Bin Sale: Tiffany informed committee members that the compost bin company is requiring us to pay $5,000 for advertising, due to hauling costs. Ken Kohs asked if we could hold the Compost Bin sale without advertising. Tiffany responded that she would check. Another option could be to do a preorder sale that would be prepaid with a few bins on hand to sell. Discussion continued.
Motion made by John LaForge to forego the Compost Bin Sale this year under the existing conditions imposed by the company to charge the Solid Waste Committee for advertising and hauling. Supported by Arnold Arquette. Roll call vote: Funke yes; Essling yes; Klisiak yes; LaForge yes; Bomba yes; Arquette yes; Hennon yes; Kohs yes. Motion carried.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANNING COMMITTEE
Vacancies: Tiffany updated the committee on membership vacancies as follows:
• Township Representative: Tiffany reminded the committee that she sent letters to the townships regarding this vacancy but has not had many responses. John Baker, Convis Township Clerk, expressed interest in this position but later declined. Tiffany will resend the letter to the townships.
• County Board Representative: The County Board meeting held on January 5 th did not have a quorum; therefore, as far as we know this item will be on their January 20 th agenda.
• Solid Waste Industry Representative (Mike Kipp vacancy): Tiffany explained that the County Board appointed Mary Thurston from Cereal City Recycling. Tiffany has sent her a letter with information about the Solid Waste Committee and the meeting schedule and asked for a letter of interest. Tiffany has not received anything to date.
• Regional Solid Waste Planning Agency Representative: Steve Essling noted that if you do not participate in regional planning, it is not necessary to have a regional solid waste representative.
MEMBERS COMMENTS
Steve Essling updated committee members on the status of various Bills that are in the House of Representatives and Senate. Two bills have received bipartisan approval in the House and Senate but were vetoed by the Governor. One was to set up an office of recycling in the DEQ and the other was the establishment of a recycling commission to look at what is working and what is not working on a broader spectrum. Discussion continued.
He inquired if the recycling company in Albion is still there. Marilyn Hennon responded that the company in no longer there.
Discussion took place on the County Littering Ordinance that was drafted for review. Tiffany explained that Calhoun County does not have the legal authority to enforce the ordinance on all properties (e.g., private property) but only on County owned right-of-way. It is up to the townships to enforce littering ordinances. Discussion continued.
Tiffany informed the committee that the Kalamazoo County Recycling Coordinator position has been eliminated.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:12 p.m. |
