: Nicole, Ben Cohen, Thomas, Bill, Joe (community member) Mark, absent: Jackie, Kim, Mike
1912 starting
COE agenda 5-3-17
Written by Thomas Brewer, COE President
1912: Compost bin and rain barrel workshops
-We are moving forward with our workshops. We have set the date as May 20th, and the location has been locked down at the Fairgrounds. The rain barrels are already on site, and the compost bins are being acquired. The University of Maryland Extension Program is handling the registration and payment from residents and they have added the event to their website. Now, we can all spread the word and try to attract attention to the workshops!
Two sessions: 0900-1000 and 1000-1100; discussed using County Fair sign and Enterprise / County Times
1919: Tire Amnesty
-At the last meeting, there was a question about tire amnesty. I contacted Nick Zurkan, and he replied with the following information: the tire amnesty program is state-sponsored and the state contacts counties as to when the event can be held, but our county has not been notified of any such event this year. The county policy on tires is that a resident can bring 5 passenger tires at a time to the landfill at no cost. Bringing more than 5 passenger tires at one time comes with a charge of $158/ton.
1921: Glass downcycling
–At the last meeting, we discussed glass recycling and downcycling, which is when a product is recycled into something of lesser value. Concrete production is an example of an opportunity to downcycle used glass, and we have concrete companies in our county, so we thought we should try to connect bars and restaurants without recycling contracts with their waste hauler to local concrete producers. Kim provided me with contact information for an employee at Chaney Enterprises. I recently emailed the employee and I am waiting on a response.
Talked about recycling at bars and the “sand” making recycling machine (from last time)
1928: Annual Report
-I emailed Diane Gleissner, Coordinator to the County Commissioners, regarding our annual report. I asked if the Commissioners had comments regarding our Annual Report, and specified if they had any thoughts on the recommendation to pursue a composting operation in the area, and I am awaiting a response.
1929: Calvert County CoE
-A member of Calvert County’s Environmental Commission contacted me recently and asked that I attend one of their meetings to exchange thoughts and ideas and try to create a connection between our two commissions. I think this is a great idea, and mentioned that I think a meeting between the three counties (St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles) could be beneficial. I plan to attend their June meeting on Monday, June 26th in the County Services Plaza, 3rd floor, Department of Community Planning & Building conference room, 150 Main St., Prince Frederick MD 20678. Their meetings are open to the public like ours, and all are welcome to attend.
Thomas’ idea is use composting to leverage all thee counties for input; discussed the MPO (www.calvert-stmarysmpo.com/AgendaCenter) Bill recommended reaching out to the Tri-County Council (Hartline)
1938: Nicole mentioned following up with Calvert County COE about their palnning summit (lessons learned);
1944: talking with Joe (community member here for a boy scout effort); discussed budget for CoE;
1951: SMCM Bay-to-Bay mended some HSMC fences to help pen cows; weeded garden plot;
1959: adjourned