MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF
THE HAMILTON COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
POLICY COMMITTEE
DATE: November 8, 2001
TIME: 2:00 pm
PLACE: Hamilton County Environmental Services
250 William Howard Taft Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
PRESENT: Policy Committee Members
Dr. Phil Geis, Representative of Solid Waste Generators
Karl Graham, Representative of Largest Municipality
Wright Gwyn, Citizen Member
Tim Ingram, Hamilton County General Health District Representative
Dr. James O'Reilly, Public Member
Todd Portune, County Commissioner, Chair
Larry Riddle, Ex-Officio Member
PRESENT: DOES Staff
Jeffrey W. Aluotto, Solid Waste Manager
Sarah Brugger, Public Affairs Coordinator
Cory Chadwick, Director
Holly Christmann, Community Specialist
Ken Edgell, Environmental Administrative Coordinator
Ali Khodadad, Operations Coordinator
Susan Schumacher, Secretary, Clerk
Tammy Wenhame, Public Affairs Specialist
Others In Attendance
Karen Ball, Administrative Aid
Nee Fong Chin, Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office
Anthony DiPuccio, SCS Engineers
Alice Kennedy, Citizen
Dave Nutini, Hamilton County General Health District
Bob Orr, CSI
ABSENT: Policy Committee Members
Keith Corman, Township Representative, Vice Chair
DOES Staff
Christy Kellner, Business Specialist
Sue Magness, Education Specialist
Lynn White, Education Assistant
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Portune called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m. Mr. Portune welcomed everyone to the meeting.
II. CLERK'S REPORT
A. Approval of Minutes - September 20, 2001
Dr. Geis motioned to approve the September 20, 2001 minutes. Mr. Graham seconded. All were
in favor and the minutes were approved by acclamation.
B. Additions/Changes to the Agenda
The following were added to the agenda:
The following were changes to the agenda:
A. Finance SubCommittee Report - October 11 and November 8, 2001
Mr. Graham stated the Finance SubCommittee reviewed the tipping fee receipts and determined that
the District is on target regarding the budget. September was down compared to previous months but
was comparable to the same time last year.
The Finance SubCommittee reviewed the expenditures and recommended approval of SWR 06/2001. Mr. Graham motioned approval of SWR 06/2001. Mr. Ingram seconded and SWR 06/2001 was approved by acclamation.
IV. POLICY ITEMS
A. Environmental Court
Mr. Aluotto stated that there is currently a Magistrate referral for the Hamilton County General Health District and Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District for cases that go through Common Pleas. Currently, the same Magistrate referral process does not apply to minor misdemeanor cases which are what the majority of litter and nuisance cases are.
Mr. Aluotto referenced Attachment B of the Policy Packet, a Staff Report detailing the number of cases, how they are viewed and handled, etc. Multiple Political Subdivisions seem to be in support of an Environmental Court. An option for the District would be to work with Political Subdivisions and other organizations that may benefit from a "Housing Court" which would address environmental violations such as quality of life issues versus litter and illegal dumping issues only.
Mr. Portune gave some examples of similar issues occurring within the City of Cincinnati and a brief discussion ensued regarding the "Housing Court" within Cincinnati.
Dr. O'Reilly thanked the District for all of the work that was done regarding Environmental Court.
Dr. O'Reilly concurred with the "quality of life" approach. A quality of life court that expands upon the environmental and litter process and also takes into account the hearing issues that come up regarding tenant and landlord disputes. Dr. O'Reilly stated that there was room for a Municipal Court that devotes its attention to "quality of life" issues.
Dr. O'Reilly stated that he felt that the Policy Committee should move forward regarding this with the concept of the City Solicitor interacting with the Prosecutor's Office on what might be the appropriate amendment to the original motion. Dr. O'Reilly stated at this time, he was not ready to amend the resolution.
Ms. Chin stated that her concern was that communities do not have the money or resources to allocate to an enforcement officer to just write littering tickets. There are 12-15 municipal judges downtown that are able to hear environmental cases if they are brought. But, if the cases are not brought, the judges are not going to hear them regardless if it is environmental court or if it is the municipal judges. How are the cases going to come in any differently with the environmental court than they are now because the communities aren't going to have any more money. A large majority of the time, the case goes to the community's Mayor's court because that way, the community receives the money and it never goes to municipal court.
Mr. Portune stated that he would like to continue the dialog with the city solicitor and prosecutor and to have staff undertake the statistical detailed review of Ms. Chin's concerns.
Dr. O'Reilly asked staff to "interview" the 6-7 largest municipal Mayor's Courts and find out how many environmental cases each one has and the amount of money they generated. Also, speak with the City to inquire about quality of life issues regarding their housing court.
Pending the requests, this item was tabled until the January 10, 2002 meeting.
Mr. Aluotto highlighted a few subjects addressed in the Draft EPP Policy (attachment C of the Policy Packet) and stated that the Policy was constructed from several different models including NACo's and King County's. The Draft EPP Policy has been reviewed by the Hamilton County Purchasing Department.
Mr. Gwyn complimented the District on the Draft EPP Policy and suggested the EPP Task Force meet every 2 months versus quarterly. After discussion, it was decided that instead of the Draft EPP stating "quarterly meetings", it would read "to be determined".
Mr. Gwyn asked if there was any mechanism the District was planning on developing to get this information out to other municipalities and educating other municipalities into designing their own EPP Policy. Mr. Aluotto stated the District has been cooperating with the City on this project and the City is very interested in the same approach. The District and City have discussed establishing a County/City Cooperative Vendor Fair and will be called the Southwest Ohio Green Products Expo. Mr. Graham stated that the City is establishing a web site outlining EPP Policies. Mr. Aluotto stated that the District will be going to municipalities to "spread the word" about EPP.
Dr. Geis asked that the word "recyclables" be changed to "material that could be recycled" or "material is recycled" under definitions of the EPP Policy. The Policy Committee concurred with Dr. Geis.
Mr. Gwyn asked if the words "reuse" and "recyclable" could be separated under definitions. The Policy Committee concurred.
Mr. Graham moved that the Policy Committee recommend approval of the modified Draft EPP to the Board of County Commissioners. Dr. O'Reilly seconded. All were in favor and the motion was approved.
Mr. Aluotto stated at the last Policy Committee meeting a report was given regarding a presentation that was given by Eastman and Smith detailing the contract designation fee system that was set up in Van Wert County. During that discussion, the Policy Committee asked Staff for a report on the ratification of District fees process. Mr. Aluotto discussed page 2 and 3 of the memo supplied at the Policy Committee meeting which detailed the fee ratification process.
Although there is a contingency plan outlined in the Plan Update for revenue shortfalls, the District would like to hire Eastman & Smith to investigate if the Van Wert County fee system could work for Hamilton County, the legalities of it, implementation, etc.
After discussion, the Policy Committee concurred that this item should be tabled until the January 10, 2002 meeting. The Policy Committee requested that Staff obtain a price for the study.
A. Community RRI Surpluses
Mr. Aluotto briefly discussed the history and current status of the RRI program reiterating from the September meeting that some communities have accumulated surpluses and the reasons why. Included in the Manager's Memo as attachment D was a draft of expanded uses for RRI surpluses. Mr. Aluotto gave examples as to what expanded uses could mean for communities i.e. tire and litter clean-ups.
Mr. Gwyn stated that the current RRI Program is very restrictive and stated that every community is different. Expanding the RRI Program could greatly promote the positive effects of recycling to the residents of that community i.e. energy efficient lighting on the community basketball court.
During the discussion, many questions were raised so the Policy Committee requested that the District obtain a Prosecutor's Opinion regarding allowable expenditures for the RRI Program, other than solid waste authorized purposes and explore a broader expression for municipal uses for surplus funding.
This item will be tabled until a Prosecutor's Opinion can be obtained. RRI Surpluses will be revisited at the January 10, 2002 meeting.
Mr. Aluotto thanked Ms. Christmann for all of her work on establishing the expanded use of surpluses policy.
B. Yardwaste Drop-Off Sites
Mr. Aluotto stated that the District is currently out to bid for the 3 yardwaste drop-off sites for 2002. A Pre-bid meeting is scheduled for November 13, 2001. Bid opening will occur on November 27, 2001.
C. CARE Awards
Ms. Christmann stated that 2001 marked the first annual CARE (Communities Achieving Recycling Excellence) Awards. Ms. Christmann explained the program and stated that Forest Park, Madeira, and Newtown were the winners with each receiving $1,000 to purchase recycled-content materials. The District will be visiting each community's council meeting to present the award. The press and community councils visited so far have been very receptive.
Mr. Aluotto stated that the District has entered into a grant agreement with NU-BLEND Paints, Inc. for $50,000. Already, NU-BLEND Paints, Inc. has made some significant strides in improving the operation.
The Policy Committee was interested in viewing the operations at NU-BLEND Paints, Inc so it was decided to conduct the next Policy Committee meeting at NU-BLEND Paints, Inc. so a tour could be included either before or after the meeting.
Mr. Aluotto informed the Policy Committee that the January 10, 2002 meeting will be the last one for Mr. Gwyn and Dr. Geis. Applications have been sent out to solicit for replacements of the two positions. Mr. Aluotto explained the application/interview process to the Policy Committee.
Dr. O'Reilly passed out a memo detailing the City of Wyoming's waste sort and discussed the results. A discussion ensued regarding recycling education in Hamilton County.
VII. POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS' COMMENTS
Dr. O'Reilly thanked the District for providing educational materials for Wyoming's Fall Festival.
VIII. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mr. Aluotto stated Staff helped the Village of Lockland kick off its recycling program last week. Ms. Brugger discussed specifics about the program.
IX. UPCOMING DISTRICT MEETINGS
The next Policy Committee meeting is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2002 at NU-BLEND Paints, Inc. located at 40 E. McMicken.X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by acclamation at 3:44pm.