Environment and Recycling

Regular Meeting

Charleston, WV · July 12, 2022

Minutes

MINUTES ENVIRONMENT & RECYCLING COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 12, 2022– 5:30 PM AV ROOM – CITY HALL Committee Members Present: Caitlin Cook, Chair – Bobby Brown Emmett Pepper – Shannon Snodgrass (via zoom) Others Present: Mayor Amy Goodwin- Jonathan Storage, City Manager - Brent Webster – Sam Strickland – Rod Watkins w/Green Team – Steve Pilato & Scott Newkirk w/Gorilla Recycling Caitlin Cook began by stating that as Chair of the E&R Committee she has decided that post this meeting, E&R meetings will be held solely “in-person”. She said that she believes meeting in person will foster better decorum and communication and hopefully solutions for the City amongst our colleagues. The Chairman next entertained a motion to approve the previous meeting minutes. Ultimately the motion to approve was made by Bobby Brown. Emmett Pepper seconded. Previous minutes approved as written. While waiting for a representative Steve Pilato to join the Zoom meeting, Chairman Cook asked City Manager Storage for any updates he could provide. Mr. Storage stated that he did not want to get too far ahead with details as he did not want to usurp the presentation of the representatives here from Gorilla Recycling. He did say that as most are aware, the City currently trucks all its recyclables to Raleigh County at our expense, in manpower, fuel costs and tear on vehicles, etc. He added that hopefully Gorilla Recycling can eliminate these by finding a way to recycle locally. He stated that the hope is to find a suitable parcel or parcels inside the City limits that could accommodate a recycling facility but could not go further with details as they are still in the negotiation and evaluating stage. Steve Pilato joined the meeting and he and Scott Newkirk provided a detailed presentation as to what Gorilla Recycling could provide for the City of Charleston Recycling program. After the presentation, the Chairman opened the floor for questions. The Chairman asked what the relationship between the City and Gorilla workers look like. Jonathan storage stated the only involvement our employees will have would be coordinating the drop off of the Gorilla created material to households on their daily runs. Bobby Brown asked about the maintenance of the grounds and building. Jonathan Storage stated that Gorilla, as a long-term lessee would be responsible for all property maintenance. Shannon Snodgrass asked outside of the land donation, if there were any other costs to the city. The short answer was no. Shannon Snodgrass stated that she assumed and hoped that they would be engaging with Kanawha Co. Commission and surrounding cities to participate. Scott Newkirk responded that they absolutely will. Brent Webster asked if all the materials currently being collected by the city will be recycled. Steve Pilato stated that it will. Emmett Pepper added that the only 2 mandated municipalities are Charleston and So. Charleston but including others would be of great benefit for all involved. The Mayor thanked Gorilla Recycling for their presentation. She stated that he has an opportunity to speak further with them tomorrow and has several questions she has received from the community to share. There being no further comments, the Chairman entertained a motion to adjourn. Emmett Pepper made the motion. Bobby Brown seconded. The meeting was adjourned.

Agenda

Packet

CITY OF CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA Council Member – AT-LARGE Caitlin Cook Environment and Recycling Committee, Chair 1534 Summit Drive Public Safety Committee Charleston, WV 25302Telephone: 304-543-879 caitlin.cook@cityofcharleston.org TO: Environment and Recycling Committee FROM: Caitlin Cook, Chair RE: Committee Meeting A meeting of the Council Committee on Environment and Recycling will be held on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. The meeting will begin promptly at 5:30 PM In the AV Room #308 in City Hall, 501 Virginia St. E. Charleston, WV 25301. Agenda APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES 1. 4-14-2022 DISCUSSION 1. Gorilla Recycling Presentation CC/jb Page | 1 of MINUTES ENVIRONMENT & RECYCLING COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 14, 2022 – 5:30 PM- VIA REMOTE Committee Members Present: Caitlin Cook, Chair - Bruce King -Bobby Brown Emmett Pepper Others Present: Mayor Goodwin- Linda Frame/James Young/Rod Watkins w/The Green Team Brent Webster – The Chairman entertained a motion to approve the previous minutes. Bruce King made the motion. Bobby Brown seconded. Previous minutes approved as written. First Agenda Item: Bin Discussion- The Chairman yielded the floor to Mayor Goodwin. The Mayor began by telling the Committee that when the decision was made to take away the plastic bags, was not a popular one, but after research found that it was not appropriate to recycle things in a bag that was not recyclable. She also said that spending $400,000 per year to an out of state firm to provide non-recyclable bags was not a good use of money, which was confirmed by the Study that was conducted last year. She went on to say that due in part to the work and leadership of the late Councilman John Kennedy Bailey, a program was put into place whereby citizens could use their existing bins worked well but felt there needed to be more streamlined and develop more consistency regarding the type of bin. She added that they wanted to use it as an opportunity for a pilot program for these bins in recycling and refuse. She stated that they have ordered 5,000 bins which will be distributed in the near future. She said that due to the diligence and hard work of the refuse and recycling team they have gathered information on who is currently recycling, which is approximately3,600ish. She added that they over- ordered intentionally to have a surplus in hopes of creating and increasing the number of households who recycle and if needed, will ask Council to order more. She stated that it may also be a great opportunity to provide some type of tangible item such as a laminated card or magnet in addition to the QR code on the bin which could provide additional information about the recycling program. She stated that she is interested and is looking forward to hearing this committee’s feedback as to the best way to move forward. Chairman Cook stated that with the QR code could also provide any possible amendments to the current ordinance is necessary as well as any updates to and about the program by just scanning it with a phone. She added that she also agrees receiving something tangible is important and that providing both would be ideal but is open to whatever the committee decides is best. The Chairman opened the floor for committee comments. Emmett Pepper stated that he agreed with using both. Bobby Brown mentioned that he believed that over time the stickers on the bins will need replacing and that something tangible should be given at the time the bins are distributed. Brent Webster stated that he hopes the bins would be available for distribution either the 2nd or 3rd week in May but with supply issues could not say definitely He went on to say that once received it would take multiple weeks to get them distributed. Chairman Cook asked if there Page | 2 of would be a letter sent before the bins are distributed. Brent Webster responded that it would be a real challenge because the only way currently to track who is recycling is provided by the crew who does it and there are no names attached to the address. He stated that he would be open to any suggestions from this committee and/or the administration. Chairman Cook also asked if a particular household needed an extra bin, are there options to attain one. Brent Webster said that it would mostly depend on what this committee and/or administration and surplus bins that may exist. The next item of discussion was the Gorilla Recycling facility discussion. Chairman Cook stated that she hopes to have someone from Gorilla to speak at the next E&R meeting. She went on to say that he hopes every member of the committee take a deep dive into the proposal and have a set of questions or concerns to try to make sure we utilize the opportunity to get the most useful information from them. James Young with the Green Team began by saying that representative of Gorilla Recycling reached out regarding the concept of bringing a recycling facility to Charleston. He stated that they have had communication back and forth with them and felt that as a volunteer committee they had done all they could and decided that bringing it this committee as well as the administration was the next step. Chairman Cook asked if anyone could share some of the questions and feedback they had received. Linda Frame remarked that Gorilla Recycling expressed that they wanted to take the lead on education and would want to cast a wide net into other communities in order to make sure they got enough material, and they would bring in their own staff. Rod Watkins stated that 95% of the risk lies with Gorilla other than having available property or the opportunity to purchase property. Emmett Pepper agreed that if things stay the same and no surprises, other than the land issue, that it appears that most of the risk lies with Gorilla and is cautiously optimistic about the proposal. The Chairman stated that when it comes down to finite details that the city has huge resources in City Mgr. Jonathan Storage and City Attorney Kevin Baker and she plans to invite Mr., Storage to the next meeting to give him the opportunity to hear and engage with the folks with Gorilla Recycling. The Last Agenda Item is Benchmarking Update. The Chairman stated that the City Mgr. has been working with various organizations essentially getting the data needed for the benchmarking and it is getting recorded. She added that all the pieces needed to do the benchmarking is now in place. She also stated that hopefully by July 1, the City Mgr. will have A full report. The Chairman asked if there were any further comments, questions or concerns. There being none, the Chairman entertained a motion to adjourn. Bruce King made the motion. Bobby Brown seconded. Meeting was adjourned. Page | 3 of . The next E&R Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at 5:30 PM Page | 4 of Page | 5 of