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Redcliff council rejects recycling transfer site

Posted on March 20, 2018 by 40 Mile Commentator

By Jeremy Appel
Commentator/Courier
Redcliff council voted down at its March 12 meeting a proposal to look into setting up a recycling transfer site in town, just two weeks after narrowly rejecting curbside collection.
Coun. Larry Leipert put forward the transfer site motion, which was quashed 5-2, with Coun. Shawna Cockle joining his vote in favour.
“This is a dinosaur,” Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick, a staunch supporter of curbside, said of Leipert’s proposal.
“Why do you want to go to a system that appears to be redundant in communities that already have it?”
“This is what people are telling me they want,” responded Leipert.
A transfer site could cost the town more money than it currently pays for back-alley garbage collection, said Coun. Cathy Crozier, another curbside supporter.
“We’re recycling the recycling,” she said.
“This could potentially cause an increase that’s already in place … We didn’t put money in the budget for this.”
The Feb. 26 motion projected savings of 7.7 per cent in curbside’s first year, which Leipert called a “lowball price.”
He said at the most recent meeting that his constituents don’t mind paying more for centralized recycling.
Coun. Chris Czember, who voted against both the Feb. 26 curbside and March 12 transfer site motions, says he wants council to explore all options for recycling in town before committing to a specific proposal.
“I’m all for recycling, whether it’s curbside or a centralized location, I’m fine with that,” said Czember
He said he voted against Leipert’s motion because it was too narrow.
Czember opposed the curbside motion because it didn’t include composting, which many Redcliff residents wouldn’t be able to fit in their new bins.
“I like the idea that it saved us a little bit of money, but if you have an average-to-large size lawn, which a lot of lots do in Redcliff … and (you) need to get (your) grass trimmings to the dump, that can be very cumbersome,” he said.
“The savings … would just go out the window in inconvenience.”
Czember said he was approached by another company proposing curbside recycling, but had yet to meet with them.
“That made me realize that there are more companies out there willing to give us proposals, so why wouldn’t we look at any and all options?”
New Facilities Use Policy adds cancellation fees for arena
Council also discussed its updated Facilities Use Policy, adding a $15 cancellation fee for rentals across the board, including for the Rec-Tangle Arena.
Czember inquired whether council could increase the fee for the arena to encourage the local minor hockey team to be “a little more efficient with its ice time.”
He said a “semi-pro hockey team,” which he is unable to name at this time, is considering moving to Redcliff’s arena and that they could use additional ice time.
Kim Dalton, the town’s director of community and protective services, said the fee initially applied only to swimming lessons if the cancellation is within 10 working days.
“This just adds another $15 administration fee for cancellation, regardless,” Dalton said.
Kilpatrick said there aren’t enough arena cancellations to justify increasing the fee for ice rentals.
“It’s not like they cancel so many sessions that they become burdensome,” he said.

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