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BWRC Minutes October 4 2018Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — October 4, 2018 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee MINUTES: Monthly Meeting, Thursday, October 4, 2018 6:00 PM, Beverly City Hall, Conference Room A CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 pm COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair - Susan Higgins, Sandy Burgess, Nancy Dillon, Rebecca Dupont - Coutu, Joyce Herman, Toni Musante COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: None INVITED PARTICIPANTS AND GUESTS: Kevin Harutunian (Mayor's Chief of Staff), Catherine Barrett (City of Beverly Grant Coordinator), John Swain, Jim Bauer, Mary Barthelmes Higgins informed the Committee that Eileen Sacco, the Committee's recording secretary, has been ill and unable to attend meetings. She remains interested in working with us if her health allows her to do so. In her absence, we will continue to record the meetings and prepare minutes from the recordings. Introductions were made around the room. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the August 2018 meeting were presented for approval. Dillon moved to approve the minutes. Dupont - Coutu seconded the motion. The motion carried (6 -0). There was no meeting in September 2018, and therefore no September minutes. Treasurer's Report Burgess reported that she is working with the Engineering Department to determine the correct balance of the account. Massachusetts DEP Grant Funding Higgins recapped the grant funding the City received from the MADEP Recycling Dividends Program (RDP). Barrett said the City applied for $27,000 and received $31,500. The increase was initially an error from MADEP (to the benefit of Beverly and other communities), but MADEP said that it would honor the higher reported grant amounts. Higgins reported that this was the first year that Beverly qualified for the RDP grant funding, which is due in part to the composting program and the two - barrel limit. Higgins asked if the funds were targeted for anything special and asked what the Committee can do to help make sure we continue to receive this grant funding in future years. Barrett reported that use of funds is broad with not many restrictions; the City hasn't determined use of funds yet. Harutunian confirmed that nothing is earmarked, and they are interested in our input regarding programs that would be a good use of these funds. Committee members made a few suggestions, including a part-time recycling education and enforcement person. There was a brief discussion about the concern of hiring a Page 1 of 3 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — October 4, 2018 person with grant funding, with no guarantee that funding would be available in future years. A suggestion was made to consider a temporary person as an independent contractor. Update on Composting Program The discussion about grant funding and a potential part -time recycling staff person migrated into a discussion about the composting program and some of the administrative burdens associated with the water bill rebate and the need to track bins for future customers. Harutunian advised that the composting program is high on the Mayor's list of priorities. There is a lot of support for the program from the top down. In terms of working out the logistical details, we can continue discussions. Bauer noted that if you can get the price down low enough, most people don't complain about the cost. He also thinks that the City rebate on the trash fee is an incentive for many people. Barthelmes provided input on the importance of continuing to bring the message forward to educate and remind people and keep them engaged. Harutunian suggested we plan a focused effort to sign up 250 households (the number of bins we have available). There was a discussion about the logistics of delivering /tracking bins, with the Committee potentially fulfilling this role. There was also a discussion about timing; the City will be focused during October/November on the rollout of the new parking meters as well as the Bring Your Own Bag implementation. To the extent we need City involvement in a focused campaign to sign up 250 households, we may have to delay efforts for a few months. The Committee discussed the potential of forming a Subcommittee to work on promoting the composting program. Harutunian advised that a Subcommittee would need to follow open meeting laws, but an individual Committee member could meet with outside parties to collect information and bring the information back to the Committee (cannot have deliberations between Committee members outside a posted meeting). Higgins moved to have Hermon lead a Subcommittee to explore options to promote and expand the composting program. Dillon seconded. Motion carried (6 -0). Bring Your Own Bag Implementation Harutunian provided an overview of implementation activities for the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance. There is a tentative community meeting scheduled for the last week of November. The Committee has had previous discussions about potentially funding the purchase of reusable bags. Councilor Rand and her working group (including Hermon from the Waste Reduction Committee) have been working with Harutunian and Barrett to explore the purchase of reusable bags. The City would like to distribute the bags to low income residents (e.g., affordable housing units, through the Council on Aging, Bootstraps, etc.). The City estimates $5,000 would allow them to purchase 3,968 bags and would like to request support from the Waste Reduction Committee. Swain asked about the source of the cost information, and suggested they ask Bootstraps, Endicott College, and Life Bridge (Salem) where they have purchased their bags in the past. Higgins suggested checking with Beverly Main Streets, which also recently purchased bags. Mayor Cahill stopped into the meeting during the discussion and thanked the Committee for its consideration of providing funding for this purpose. Page 2 of 3 Beverly Waste Reduction Committee Meeting Minutes — October 4, 2018 Dillon made a motion that we fund up to $5,000 for the City to purchase and distribute reusable bags for the purpose outlined above. Dupont -Coutu seconded. Dillon thanked Harutunian for coming back to the Committee with more details about the proposed project, and for investing the effort to gather cost information and outline a preliminary plan for distribution; she commented that this use of funds would be well invested. The motion carried (6 -0). Other Business and Updates Harutunian requested to come back next month to give a status update on the new two - barrel program. The Committee thanked him for that and said we would love to have that update. Higgins updated the Committee regarding the letter we co- signed with the Hamilton Waste Reduction Committee asking Beverly Shaws to remove clear plastic recycling bags (Hefty) from the shelf. These bags are not allowed in the Beverly or Hamilton curbside recycling programs; when used, the bags result in materials being rejected at the curb. The Hamilton Committee has effectively had these bags removed from Crosby's, Stop and Shop, and Aubuchon Hardware. The letter was successful; Shaws in Beverly has now removed the bags from the shelf. Adjournment There being no further discussion this evening, the meeting was adjourned at 7:19 p.m. Page 3 of 3