Palmer Township EAC – Meeting Minutes

Environmental Steering Committee March 25, 2009

Attendees: Rob Reese, Tom Ganssle, Cindy Oatis, Chris Briglia, Terry Cooper, Robert Lamni, Tom Dittmar, David Sciascia

Meeting opened at: 7:00 PM

Guests:

Steve Tomsic (Mascaro Hauling): Steve was present to present the Mascaro Hauling report.

Approval of Minutes: 1) September 2008, October 2008 and February 2009 minutes. 2) Cindy O. discussed necessary revisions to the February 2009 minutes. 3) Tom D. mentioned a necessary revision to the September 2008 minutes. The revisions were noted and the revised minutes will be submitted for further review and approval at the April 2009 meeting.

Hauler Report: 1) Rob R. discussed Mascaro’s negligence in recycling the Township residents Christmas trees and mentioned a few ways for them to atone for the negligence. 2) Bob L. mentioned that there are presently no provisions in Mascaro’s hauling contract to prohibit this negligence or clarify it as a violation. Hauler driving violations were also discussed. 3) The ESC discussed the code enforcement officials ability to police the haulers more often.

Palmer ESC Representation: ESC representation before the Township BOS was discussed and Rob R. and Tom G. will appear before the Township B. O. S. for a presentation and representation on behalf of the ESC, in the near future.

Recycling Coordinator Report: Cindy O. discussed pursuing the larger businesses in the Twp. for the submittal of their recycling & trash reports. Cindy O. also discussed recycling education for the recycling center employees and wants to provide information fliers to hand out. 2) Cindy O. reported that there was a recent mulch delivery to the compost center. 3) She prepared and discussed the recycling article in the Township news letter. 4) Bob L. mentioned small businesses such as his and Chris B. receiving fliers about Township recycling. Both Bob and Chris B. mentioned they report recycling as residential. 6) Cindy O. said that the Palmer Mall and strip malls should recycle much more and perhaps acquire crushers and/or containers for same. 7) Terry C. added that the supposedly small stores are actually part of a large corporation. 8) Cindy O. added that it would still be difficult for the “smaller” stores to make the provisions that the larger ones do (i.e. hire a hauler that crushes, recycles, etc.). 9) David S. suggested approaching the lessor or building landlord/owner to start the process. 10) Cindy O. mentioned that the building owners receive recycling fliers but feels that they do not heed their message. 11) Tom D. recommends cost avoidance (i.e. monthly landfill costs) to give the businesses an incentive to recycle more. 12) Rob R. suggested the creation of a sub-committee to assist Cindy O. achieve this goal and Cindy agreed that she needs help. 13) Tom G. & Bob L. discussed the need for the Township BOS to both back the ESC and enforce Township recycling ordinances and Bob L. stressed recycling initiatives as a priority for 2009. 14) Rob R. discussed Mascaro’s violation with the yard waste pick-up. 15) Tom D. mentioned that there are PADEP restrictions for landfills accepting yard waste, but the PADEP does not enforce them enthusiastically.

Old Business: 1) Rob R. mentions the necessary repair of the stairs at the recycling center when the weather permits. 2) Rob R. mentioned the distribution of the flood study for the Bushkill Creek and also that no Township representatives attended the presentation. 3) Bob L. stated that Palmer Township was not invited to attend the presentation and that he will investigate why. 4) Rob R. encouraged our attendance at the Adventures in Ag presentation. 5) Bob L. stressed the importance of the ESC reviewing the Township Website and offering comments to him ASAP.

New Business:

YPA 2009: A discussion opened regarding the 2009 YPA initiatives. The following priority order was discussed and agreed upon:

· (1) E-cycling Event 5/9/2009 EAHS

· (2) Palmer Community Weekend

· (3) Recycling Improvements. Pursue increase in recycling volume.

· (4) Storm Water Education – The Township DPW and Boy Scouts will do this by placing emblems with watershed information on the catch basin curb pieces in the Township.

· (5) Composting and Yard Waste

· (6) Representation by municipal officials at meetings

· (7) Launch a campaign to clean up general litter within the Township

E-cycling Event 1) The next event will take place on May 9t^h at Easton Area High School from 10 AM to 2 PM. Tom D. is looking for ESC members to help with directing traffic at this event. 2) Bob L. said that the shredding service is not feasible for this event but should be considered next year.

Tree Tenders Training 4/4: Rob R. & Tom G. will attend this training class to enable the Township to obtain State grant funds.

West Ward/Easton EAC Recycling Bin Distribution 4/09: Rob R. explained the program and that the EAC’s will cooperate from 8:30am – 12:30pm every weekend in April. A clean-up will take place at the end of the month.

Earth Hour Saturday 3/28/09 @ 8:30pm-9:30pm: Rob R. explained that it was mainly for not using any household lighting for the hour.

Earth Day/Week/Arbor Day 2009: 1) Cindy O. discussed prioritizing recycling events for earth day next year. 2) Tom D. mentioned that the Township had received a recycled plastic bench from Giant Food Market that could be placed during this time frame. 3) Dave S. mentioned the idea of combining recycling events for earth day.

Official Representation at meetings: 1) Bob L. mentioned the need for members from our committee and the Township BOS to attend each others meetings to keep each other advised. 3) Bob L. also mentioned that if he can not attend our meetings that a member from the BOS should attend in his place.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 7:00 PM, at Palmer Municipal Building.

Adjournment: 9:15PM Motion to adjourn made by Tom G., and seconded by Terry C.

Minutes submitted by Chris Briglia.