6. SR 06-07-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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liver MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Phil Hals, Street Superintendent DATE: May 18, 2010 SUBJECT: SCORE Funding for Composting In light of recent budget cuts by the state, there is a strong possibility that SCORE funding for the compost and brush grinding will be severely cut or completely eliminated in 2011. Currently, the cities of the Sherburne County Recycling Board (Becker, Big Lake, Elk River and Zimmerman) contribute the machines and manpower to maintain each site, but each city would not have the budget to cover the grinding costs. Annual grinding costs run $12,000 to $15,000 per year, per site. With the threat of the emerald ash borer on the horizon, grinding costs could potentially triple. I would like to request that Council address the funding shortage when they meet on June 7 with the Sherburne County Commissioners. The County seems to be the key player in the compost funding dilemma and would they have funds to assist the Sherburne County Recycling Board with grinding costs? Options the county could explore: ^ Funding a grinder to be used throughout the County. ^ Cover the annual grinding costs for each compost site. ^ Installation of a gate system so that the cities involved can continue offering a compost site that is user funded. It should be noted that a gate system does come with a high cost of installation of approximately $18,000 to $20,000 per site. The cities of Elk River and Zimmerman are moving forward with a sticker program that was approved earlier this year by the respective City Councils. This pilot program will provide some indication of the public response to a user funded system. With the County's assistance, we are optimistic that we can come up with a funding solution to keep the compost sites operational in the future. The compost sites are extremely popular with Sherburne County residents and reduce green waste that would end up in the landfill or fill in wetlands, lakes and streams.