Town of Mount Desert
Solid Waste – Recycling Committee
1. Call to order. Chairman Smith called the meeting order at 4:30 p.m. Present were Tony Smith, Millie Johnson, Lee Patterson, Joelle Nolan, and Barry Pollard.
2. Approval of minutes February 1, 2005 meeting. Motion made and seconded (Patterson/Johnson) to approve the February 1, 2005 minutes as circulated. A vote was called and the motion carried unanimously 4-0.
3. Regular Business.
Chairman Smith updated members on the membership status of Kathy Branch since she has been elected as a Selectman. According to the Town’s Charter she cannot serve as a voting member; however, she can act as liaison from the Board of Selectmen. Motion made and seconded (Patterson/Johnson) to accept Kathy Branch as a non-voting member with the status of liaison from the Board of Selectmen. A vote was called and the motion carried unanimously 4-0.
Phil Lichtenstein joined the meeting.
A. Marina dumpsters – what to do with them.
Summary: The Town provides scheduled curbside collection of trash but some people feel it necessary to dispose of trash at their convenience, be it at the marina, the highway garage or Seal Harbor beach. We receive an undetermined amount of trash from nonresidents and non-taxpayers that we end up paying for. Most people in attendance at the February 7th Board of Selectmen’s (BOS) meeting agreed with the above and also agreed that the marina dumpsters were convenient but were a convenience that is being abused.
After much discussion, including various options, at the February 7th meeting, the BOS asked us for a formal recommendation as to what should be done with the marina dumpsters. At our February 1, 2005 solid waste committee (SWC) meeting, we recommended elimination of the dumpsters and placing a second one in the permitted parking lot near the Chamber of Commerce. I would like to revisit the issue with the goal of providing the BOS with a written recommendation for the dumpsters and the dumpster building at their March 15, 2005 meeting. Options discussed at the February 7th BOS meeting and elsewhere include:
a. Maintain the status quo.
b. Eliminate the dumpsters, place a second one in the permitted parking lot near the Chamber of Commerce and demolish the building to construct parking spaces.
c. Eliminate the dumpsters, place a second one in the permitted parking lot near the Chamber of Commerce, relocate the building to another site in Town and construct parking spaces in its place.
d. Eliminate the dumpsters, place a second one in the permitted parking lot near the Chamber of Commerce and use the building for something else e.g. buildings and grounds storage.
e. Relocate the dumpsters to the highway garage, place a second one in the permitted parking lot near the Chamber of Commerce, reuse or relocate the building, construct parking spaces as applicable.
f. In options b, c, d and e above, the two dumpsters will be locked and monitored by the harbormasters office. When a boater wants to dispose of trash, they will have to obtain a key from the harbormasters office.
g. Like f above except have the dumpsters unlocked for a scheduled period of time each day.
After an extensive discussion of the options outlined above, Motion made and seconded (Patterson/Lichtenstein) to 1) eliminate the four dumpsters located at the locally know Northeast Harbor marina; 2) remove the building housing the four dumpsters (means to be determined by the Board of Selectmen); and 3) to place a second dumpster adjacent to the existing dumpster in the Yachtsman Private Parking Lot with both dumpsters labeled “Marina Use Only”, locked, and monitored by the Harbor master. A vote was called and the motion carried unanimously 5-0.
B. Equity of waste collection schedule – residential and commercial. It was determined that this issue was settled by a motion and positive vote at the last meeting [Motion made, seconded (Johnson/Smith) and unanimously carried to recommend to Selectmen at the February 7, 2005 meeting to have business waste picked up same number of times as residential: once a week in winter and twice a week in summer].
C. Household hazardous waste and universal waste update – Tony Smith. Tony continues to work with Hancock County Planning Commission to hold the 3rd Annual HHW collection and 1st Annual UW collection in early October 2005 at the MDI High School. Volunteers are needed to help direct traffic. Phil and Tony volunteered.
D. Cardboard update (Monday and Thursday schedules) – Tony Smith. For businesses only, collection day will be Monday for Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor and Otter Creek; Thursday for Route 198 and Somesville. This is the current schedule and will be modified for summer as necessary.
E. Earth Machine composters – Tony Smith. Tony has ordered 20 composters. They will arrive late June 2005. We will advertise prior to that. Members agreed to re-sell the composters at cost: $36.50.
F. Committee member’s reports. Joelle expressed concerns about budget cuts. Based on Tony’s comments about recent Board of Selectmen requests to cut costs and increase revenue (from 2005 budget meetings), she questioned whether cutting services is how the taxpayers of the town want their taxes reduced.
Members discussed the recycling bins in the Post Offices. Currently the Town maintenance man, Karl Richard, collects the recyclables Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tony plans to meet with the local postmasters to consider other options. If the bins were a different size and in a separate space, it might be possible for the refuse trucks to do the collection.
Tony reminded members that we do have a recycle attendant at Sargeant Drive from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.
G. Assignments per Committee member.
Tony will make presentation to Board of Selectmen regarding marina dumpsters.
Joelle will provide members with a copy of the current “Recycle Flyer”; suggestions for updating the flyer will be discussed at the next meeting.
Joelle will provide members with the EMR, Inc. fee schedule.
H. Any other business as may be legally conducted. None.
I. Input from the attending public. None.
5. Next meeting scheduled for 4:30 PM, Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at the Somesville fire station.
6. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 5:48 p.m.
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