THE ISSUES - CURBSIDE GARBAGE (and RECYCLING) PICKUP
OVERVIEW
When it was suggested to Council that a Township-wide curbside pickup program could likely be put in place for around $6/mth ($72/yr), one Councillor responded with a very closed-minded phrase - "in your dreams". Council was subsequently shown a detailed plan backing up the claim of a $72/yr service, and it has steadfastly ignored it ever since. Instead, whenever the topic of curbside pickup is brought up, Councillors cite outdated (and so far, unsubstantiated) information claiming that it would cost more than $300/yr per house, and that no one wants it. Frankly, neither of those claims passes the sniff test.
Staff have stated that the existing system is the most economical one, and therefore, best for the residents. That system works as follows: all residents in the north end (formerly Kitley) pay a $103/yr levy for Township-organized curbside pickup, and residents in the south end (formerly Elizabethtown, comprising 75% of the population) are simply left to make their own arrangements - either "self serve" at the dump, or calling a private contractor. Council won't even bother to pose the question to the south end. Instead, Councillors continue to claim that they know what the people want.
There's a lot more to this than meets the eye - there are actually some significant budget/tax implications, too.
Staff have stated that the existing system is the most economical one, and therefore, best for the residents. That system works as follows: all residents in the north end (formerly Kitley) pay a $103/yr levy for Township-organized curbside pickup, and residents in the south end (formerly Elizabethtown, comprising 75% of the population) are simply left to make their own arrangements - either "self serve" at the dump, or calling a private contractor. Council won't even bother to pose the question to the south end. Instead, Councillors continue to claim that they know what the people want.
There's a lot more to this than meets the eye - there are actually some significant budget/tax implications, too.
DETAILS
NOTE: This was topic #4 of 5 in a comprehensive survey/petition which we circulated in the Fall of 2012. If you're interested in reading the original background material for this topic (which we circulated as part of the survey at the time), along with Council's official written response (which they subsequently mailed out to the 300+ participants), we have a separate page dedicated just to that. A word of warning - there might be a lot of reading there, too.
[Click] to see the Background Info and Council's Official Response regarding Curbside Pickup.
Otherwise, if you trust us, you can skip that and just keep reading on, below.
Our "position statement" on the topic was as follows:
[Click] to see the Background Info and Council's Official Response regarding Curbside Pickup.
Otherwise, if you trust us, you can skip that and just keep reading on, below.
Our "position statement" on the topic was as follows:
I am generally in favour of a curbside pick-up program for recyclables and "garbage" (similar to the one currently in place for the former Kitley area), which would service the entire Township - provided it can be implemented as a reasonable cost (eg. $72 per year/$6 per month, or less).
As with all 5 topics, the results were clear and compelling. 82.0% of residents, overall, wanted a curbside pickup service. Even when looking just at residents who live close to the waste site, the majority (61.6%) still wanted the service.
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Under construction. Our actual analysis will continue here ...
RESOURCES and SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Under construction. We are busy
preparing the substantiating resources (documents, newspaper articles,
etc.) to publish in this section. Please check back in a little while,
or link up with our Facebook page to be notified of updates.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article on the lead-up to the presentation of our survey/petition to Council.
Note: Our petition lead-up also got coverage on CKWS TV's evening news - but the online video clip is no longer available on their website, so we are no longer able to link to it.
[Click] - Background Info Package which was provided to anyone who participated in our survey/petition.
[Click] - Sample Survey/Petition Sheet.
[Click] - Survey Guide outlining the design details and methodologies used in the survey/petition to ensure that it was accurate, meaningful, and statistically representative of the entire population.
[Click] - Presentation/Speech. The "script" which EK-COG's spokesperson, Brant Burrow, used when we were recognized as a delegation at Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting, in order to present Council with our survey/petition results.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article covering Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting at which we presented the compelling results of our survey/petition.
(will be added soon) - Township's Full/Official Response to the Survey/Petition.
Stay tuned ... more materials to come.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article on the lead-up to the presentation of our survey/petition to Council.
Note: Our petition lead-up also got coverage on CKWS TV's evening news - but the online video clip is no longer available on their website, so we are no longer able to link to it.
[Click] - Background Info Package which was provided to anyone who participated in our survey/petition.
[Click] - Sample Survey/Petition Sheet.
[Click] - Survey Guide outlining the design details and methodologies used in the survey/petition to ensure that it was accurate, meaningful, and statistically representative of the entire population.
[Click] - Presentation/Speech. The "script" which EK-COG's spokesperson, Brant Burrow, used when we were recognized as a delegation at Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting, in order to present Council with our survey/petition results.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article covering Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting at which we presented the compelling results of our survey/petition.
(will be added soon) - Township's Full/Official Response to the Survey/Petition.
Stay tuned ... more materials to come.
PLEASE ATTEND COUNCIL MEETINGS
The clearest, most effective message you can send to Council, is to attend their meetings. So long as the public gallery is empty, they will get the impression that no one cares.
It would be hypocritical to hold Council responsible for the outcome of all things if we are perpetually absent from the process, ourselves.
Typically, Council meetings are held on Mondays. [Click] to open the Township's official calendar in a new window.
It would be hypocritical to hold Council responsible for the outcome of all things if we are perpetually absent from the process, ourselves.
Typically, Council meetings are held on Mondays. [Click] to open the Township's official calendar in a new window.