At its first meeting Monday, the Solid Waste Working Group agreed the Haines Borough has no backup plan for waste management.
What happens if Community Waste Solutions, a private firm, goes out of business tomorrow?
Group members ultimately set a goal to work toward writing a solid waste management plan for the borough.
The group – which seats representatives from Takshanuk Watershed Council, Haines Friends of Recycling, Haines Chamber of Commerce, CWS, Haines residents and the chair of the Commerce Committee – also brought up concerns on conflict of interest in light of the heliski Map Committee debacle.
Margaret Friedenauer, who was voted chair of the working group, referenced borough attorney Patrick Munson’s statement on conflict of interest to assure the group, in her opinion, that it should not worry about conflict of interest.
“Personally, I don’t see the issue,” she said. “The assembly specifically asked certain representatives of certain agencies and businesses to be on here to gain their expertise, and as long as that was the inclination and we know who is involved in this discussion, according to the attorney that really covers most of it.”
Friedenauer explained that there would have to be a very clear financial incentive for an organization represented on the committee in the approval or denial of the group’s recommendation for there to be a conflict of interest.
The working group, according to the assembly action, will report back to the commerce committee with “recommendations surrounding borough-wide service and compliance for solid waste, how to pay for it, reducing waste options, recycling and education.”
“I think the Haines Borough has a real solid waste problem,” said borough facilities director Brad Ryan. He said it’s disheartening to see illegal dumping, especially near 16 Mile Haines Highway.
Melissa Aronson, representative for Haines Friends of Recycling, requested the group research the laws surrounding dumping and other waste disposal.
The group also agreed to look at solid waste management plans from Wrangell, Petersburg and Sitka before the next meeting.
Friedenauer said the borough put together a solid waste management plan in May 2000 that voters approved, but it was never implemented. The group will use the plan as reference, but there is a lot from it that is no longer applicable.
“It’s going to be a tough mindset change for the community,” said Diana Lapham, who is one of three resident seats.
Only one member of the public, Jonathan Richardson, attended the meeting and agreed with the group’s goal to essentially come up with a contingency plan for the borough if CWS fails.
“This company looks like it’s going out of business,” he said. He said he used to work for CWS for several months.
He accused CWS of having broken equipment, no garbage truck, no commercially licensed driver, taking license plates off registered vehicles and putting them on unregistered vehicles and throwing recycling in the trash.
“These issues hanging out there over a business that already is stretched to the limit in their finances; I don’t know how it’s going to hang on,” Richardson said.
Reilly Kosinki, Chamber of Commerce representative, said a solid waste management plan will give the group and the borough a good starting point and will let the group develop alternatives and narrow scope down the line.
The working group plans to review materials and schedule its next meeting for mid to late January.