5. OPEN FORUM HANDOUT 10-20-2014

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The Sherburne County Municipal Recycling Board A Model of Efficient and Effective Use of Public Monies In order to improve recycling opportunities for residents, and to facilitate the sharing and acquisition of munici- pal equipment and tools, the cities o£ Becker, Big Lake, Zimmerman, and Elk River established the Sherburne County Municipal Recycling Board (MRB) by adopting a joint powers agreement. Since the establishment of the MRB, which occurred January of 1999, Sherburne County has provided SCORE Grants to offset the cost of managing the four separate compost sites, and to ensure that the residents of Sherburne County benefit from this service free of charge. Score Grants are monies that the counties receives annual from the State of Minnesota for the purposes set forth in Minn. State Statute 115A.557. Basically, these monies are to be used for the development and imple- mentation of solid waste (garbage) reduction, recycling initiatives, household hazardous waste programs, educa- tional programs, problem material management, and processing of solid waste. SCORE Funds have historically funded the grinding and chipping costs of yard wastes (grass clippings, leaves, garden clippings) along with wood wastes (brush and logs) that are received at the four municipal com- post sites in the county. In 2011, Sherburne County provided MRB with additional funding for the installation of an automated gate, thus preventing unauthorized use and illegal dumping. These site improvement projects were implemented in a two year phase. These four municipal compost sites receive an increasing amount of yard and wood waste each year from County residents, who benefit greatly from this free service. The ability for these four cities to work together, and share equipment and services at the benefit of the residents of this County is a model of efficient and effec- tive use of public monies worthy of emulating. 14