Sparse Crowd Sees Organic Recycling Move Forward
OOPS!
Did you every wonder what happens when you throw a party and nobody shows up? Well, that's kind of what happened Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board.
BIGGER VENUE, MOSTLY EMPTY
In anticipation of a large turnout to hear the discussion of the proposed Organics Recycling plan and observe the vote on the issue, the Board moved their meeting to the Multipurpose Room at Sonora Elementary School in the Mesa Del Mar section of town. As it turned out, the meeting could have been held in the cozy confines of the Conference Room at District Headquarters.
ONLY 8 RESIDENTS SHOWED UP
In addition to the Board members, District Staff, representatives of CR&R Environmental Services, Barry Friedland of Costa Mesa Brief (on hand to record the meeting) and Bradley Zint of the Daily Pilot, only 8 residents showed up and only three spoke to the Board on the issue.
BOARD APPROVES THE CHANGE
The short version is that the Board voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal. The actual launch date will be determined later, but it is presumed to occur between November of this year and January of 2015. Details of the actual "roll-out" will be fleshed out as they move forward with more informational town hall meetings throughout the year.
THE FUTURE IS NOW
Board President Jim Ferryman indicated that he, personally, would prefer to stick with our current single can system, but times are changing and he felt it was better for the Sanitary District and its ratepayers to be out front on this new plan instead of being caught in the rush to find places to deal with our waste later.
BEST RATE - FOREVER
Board member Arlene Shafer concurred, indicating that it's better to be first-in with a good rate. Based on the terms of the contract with CR&R, the Sanitary District will always have the lowest rate. Even if they negotiate a lower rate with other municipalities, our rate will be adjusted to match the lowest.
NO DECISION ON PAYING FOR IT
There was no discussion of the cost of this project, although there has been plenty of information made available at the four town halls held over the past few months. According to Scott Carroll, General Manager of the Sanitary District, discussion of any increase in rates will not occur before early next spring. Based on what we've been told in previous meetings, this program will cost an additional $500,000 a year and several options are available to the District to cover that cost, including possible use of reserves. That decision will come at a future date.
NO AUTOMATIC "OPT OUTS"
Carroll was clear when he responded to inquiries by members of the public about being able to "opt out" of the program. There is NO automatic "opt out". There may, however, be circumstances that permit a household to have an exemption, but those will be handled on an individual basis. The process for those evaluations will be determined as we move closer to the roll-out date.
WHERE WAS FITZY?
I was amused that, despite venting his prodigious spleen today with a critical essay as a "guest commentor" on another local blog, former Sanitary District Director Jim Fitzpatrick - apparently a very vocal advocate of plans like this one in the past - failed to show up at this meeting. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.
MORE INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS TO COME
Now the Sanitary District will proceed with more informational meetings and hammer out the details of the implementation of this plan. For details on this program go the Sanitary District web site, HERE, and review the presentations available on the Home Page.
Did you every wonder what happens when you throw a party and nobody shows up? Well, that's kind of what happened Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board.BIGGER VENUE, MOSTLY EMPTY
In anticipation of a large turnout to hear the discussion of the proposed Organics Recycling plan and observe the vote on the issue, the Board moved their meeting to the Multipurpose Room at Sonora Elementary School in the Mesa Del Mar section of town. As it turned out, the meeting could have been held in the cozy confines of the Conference Room at District Headquarters.
In addition to the Board members, District Staff, representatives of CR&R Environmental Services, Barry Friedland of Costa Mesa Brief (on hand to record the meeting) and Bradley Zint of the Daily Pilot, only 8 residents showed up and only three spoke to the Board on the issue.
BOARD APPROVES THE CHANGE
The short version is that the Board voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal. The actual launch date will be determined later, but it is presumed to occur between November of this year and January of 2015. Details of the actual "roll-out" will be fleshed out as they move forward with more informational town hall meetings throughout the year.
Board President Jim Ferryman indicated that he, personally, would prefer to stick with our current single can system, but times are changing and he felt it was better for the Sanitary District and its ratepayers to be out front on this new plan instead of being caught in the rush to find places to deal with our waste later.
BEST RATE - FOREVER
Board member Arlene Shafer concurred, indicating that it's better to be first-in with a good rate. Based on the terms of the contract with CR&R, the Sanitary District will always have the lowest rate. Even if they negotiate a lower rate with other municipalities, our rate will be adjusted to match the lowest. NO DECISION ON PAYING FOR IT
There was no discussion of the cost of this project, although there has been plenty of information made available at the four town halls held over the past few months. According to Scott Carroll, General Manager of the Sanitary District, discussion of any increase in rates will not occur before early next spring. Based on what we've been told in previous meetings, this program will cost an additional $500,000 a year and several options are available to the District to cover that cost, including possible use of reserves. That decision will come at a future date.NO AUTOMATIC "OPT OUTS"
Carroll was clear when he responded to inquiries by members of the public about being able to "opt out" of the program. There is NO automatic "opt out". There may, however, be circumstances that permit a household to have an exemption, but those will be handled on an individual basis. The process for those evaluations will be determined as we move closer to the roll-out date.I was amused that, despite venting his prodigious spleen today with a critical essay as a "guest commentor" on another local blog, former Sanitary District Director Jim Fitzpatrick - apparently a very vocal advocate of plans like this one in the past - failed to show up at this meeting. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Labels: Arlene Schafer, Barry Frieland, Bradley Zint, Costa Mesa Sanitary District, CR&R Environmental Services, Jim Ferryman, Organics Recycling, Scott Carroll
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 2/25/2014 11:09:00 PM
3 Comments:
Fitzy allegedly attended a top university, but after reading his screed I have to ask:
1)Has his "life-style" diminished his mental capacity, causing him to scrawl unreadable crap?
OR
2) Does associating with Propaganda Popp automatically make one's writing ability tank?
Arthur --
I think scenario (2) does not apply here; I have posted from time to time on Pop Popp's blog, and aside from his ignoring relevant things I say, I think my literary abilities have suffered no vitiation.
I recommended that he read a certain post, one which supports a point of view he (sort of) espouses, but his capacity for understanding was pretty obviously taxed by my comment and he did not read the post, as near as I can tell.
In the conversation I had with him, we ascertained that he is older than I by about two months. I guess we may excuse such lapses in view of his advanced age.
Fitzy attended University? Amazing new data. Which one? and was it actually accredited?
@Terry:
Supposedly Notre Dame. Maybe whomever paid tuition can still get a refund.
Posting on Righeimer's er I mean Scott Baugh's er I mean "Popp's" blog is not "associating," with him so you're probably safe.
Post a Comment
<< Home