The costs and problems involved with the increasing amount of garbage produced by Emo residents was the primary topic of discussion at council’s regular meeting there last night.
At meetings earlier this year, council expressed concerns regarding the rate at which the township’s landfill was being filled. And togeether with pending provincial legislation regarding restrictions on what can be disposed of in landfills, that prompted the municipality to accelerate its recycling programs.
“The problem with recycling with these small communities is we don’t
have enough to make it pay,” said Emo Reeve Russ Fortier. “We have to educate the people to how much it costs.”
Emo currently is recycling a significant portion of its waste through contractor Greg Stahn of Greg’s Recycling. Stahn was at last night’s meeting and made a presentation to council regarding the current state of Emo’s recycling efforts and his recommendations for next year’s contract.
“Recycling has gone very well,” said Stahn.
In the three years in which he has held the recycling contract, Stahn has seen the amount of material residents are diverting from the landfill increase dramatically.
“Most people are co-operating,” he remarked.
According to Stahn, he was collecting roughly 1,800 pounds per month in 2002 in two bins he has set up. In 2003, that amount increased to
2,364 pounds per month.
So far this year, the amount is averaging 4,117 pounds per month.
In addition to cardboard, aluminum, plastic, and steel, Stahn also advised council he is now prepared to accept glass, although he has not yet found a market for it.
He has, however, arranged to grind the glass up and significantly reduce its volume.
He proposed a fee of $10 per pound for glass pick-up, and alsoi advised council he is seeking a $2 per capita increase per year on his next contract.
The current rate is $12 per capita per year.
Stahn noted 75 percent of the glass he currently sees in his bins consists of liquor bottles.
Reeve Fortier acknowledged the township is doing is doing an excellent job in recycling, but the pressure on its landfill site is increasing nonetheless.
“We’re doing a better job of recycling, but we’re still generating more garbage,” he noted.
Also last night, Public Works superintendent Dan Wilson addressed council with a recommendation regarding tenders for taking rock from the Emo gravel pit.
To date, two bids have been received and both were well below what Wilson felt they should be. He recommended to council that new tenders be submitted with a minimum reserve bid.
Wilson also suggested the township demand a minimum bid of $2 per cubic yard of rock and also recommended any bidder must agree to take at least 5,000 cubic yards.
He estimated there currently is 10,000 cubic yards on the site.
One item on the agenda that had been tabled earlier was the status on Emo’s curling rink. Council currently is looking into the possibility of acquiring a used ice-making system.
Reeve Fortier suggested council seek accurate estimates of the cost of such a system, with a view to approaching the province for a Trillium grant.
Council also looked into the costs of sandblasting and painting the Emo Water Treatment Plant, and recommended estimates be sought some time this year so tenders can be entertained in the spring.
In other business last night, council:
•agreed to send municipal employee Ed Bullied to Thunder Bay next month to write the Ontario Environmental Training Consortium Level 3 examination;
•agreed to pay a third-party medical in the amount of $104 for volunteer firefighter Robert Simmons’ medical;
•agreed to arrange for municipal employee Bridget Beck to take the Municipal Tax Administration Program course offered by Seneca College through correspondence;
•decided to send Reeve Fortier, Coun. Gary Judson, and Clerk Brenda Cooke to attend the 22nd-annual regional conference of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association in Thunder Bay on Sept. 23-24;
•agreed to send Reeve Fortier to attend the Northern Networks Trade Conference in Kenora on Sept. 8-10;
•accepted $3,500 in funding from the Ontario Air Ambulance Base Hospital Program, opting to dedicate $2,500 to maintaining the cemetery and
$1,000 to the Public Works budget;
•agreed to pay tthe provincial government a policing levy of $8,491 for the period of January, 2004-July, 2004;
•agreed to send clerk Cooke to attend a round-table discussion regarding the provincial land tax in Fort Frances on Oct. 6; and
•agreed to send Coun. Judson to attend the official opening of the Northwestern Ontario and Northern Minnesota Crime Stoppers in International Falls on Sept. 11.
The next regular meeting of Emo council is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at the municipal office.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
