By KARLA POMEROY
With an increase in landfill fees coming in July and a tight budget expected, Basin Town Council members listened with renewed interest to a recycling program proposal from resident Aaron Kania presented at Monday’s town council meeting.
Kania provided a written proposal that includes fundraising to purchase a recycling trailer. The trailer would be a multi-compartment trailer to accept paper, plastic bottles and glass. The trailers would be similar to those used in Lovell and Greybull.
Currently, volunteers from the U.S. Forest Service transport Lovell’s trailer to the Powell Valley Recycling Center weekly. Kania said Greybull uses town employees to transport its two trailers.
Last year Lovell recycled 52,000 pounds of material and Greybull hauled 182,000 pounds. Kania said if Basin developed its own recycling program Greybull’s amount would likely decrease as some Basin residents are transporting recycling material to Greybull.
The proposal includes having Basin employees transport the trailer twice a month to the recycling center, depending on the amount of recycling material and the size of the trailer.
Mayor Phil Juillard expressed concern about using town employees, stating it would take about four hours out of a work day and cost the town $200 per week.
Kania said the town could see a savings from landfill costs of about $8,000 or more depending on the amount of material that is recycled rather than placed in the landfill.
While the mayor expressed reservations about the program, Councilor Mike Lewis said, “I think this is something we need to take a serious look at.” He added that the town needs to do something to try and cut costs and a recycling program would help lower the costs paid to take trash to the South Big Horn County Landfill.
Juillard also expressed concern about people placing other trash than recycling material in the trailer bins. And, during a discussion on composting, expressed a similar concern about people putting non-composting material in compost piles.
“These problems are legitimate but they can be solved,” Kania said. Lewis added that educating residents on the recycling and composting piles would help solve those problems.
Kania said the south landfill has included a compost area in its latest permit with the Department of Environmental Quality. Once the program is up and running, he said, the town, which is looking at budgeting for a new garbage truck, could utilize the old garbage truck to transport composting material to the landfill, thus providing for additional savings to the town.
Juillard said the council would give consideration to the proposal as they work on the 2010-2011 budget.
In other business Monday night, the council:
• Approved the retail liquor licenses for the Overland Express Mark, Stockman’s Bar and Harper’s Service Center, and a limited retail license for the Eagles Cloud Peak Aerie No. 3086.
• Approved annual resolutions allowing certain town employees to purchase items through the Wyoming Surplus Property program and with the MEAN electrical provider.
• Approved on third and final reading the ordinance changing the definition of mobile homes, which now prohibits mobile homes older than 1976 from being brought into the town of Basin.
• Held an executive session regarding legal issues with Big Horn REA. The town and REA are working on an agreement for a connection of a proposed line to serve the town’s new substation to a line owned by Big Horn REA.