Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority
Committee on Litter Prevention, Control and Cleanup
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
July 26th, 2012
The regular meeting of the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management
Authority Committee on Litter Prevention, Control and Cleanup was called to
order at 8:30 a.m. by Chairman Jim Becker on Thursday, the 26th of July, 2012
in the conference room of the Monroe County Conservation District.
Roll Call:
The following Committee members were present: Chairman James Becker,
Vice Chairman Joe Battisto, Ann Pilcher, Robert Mudrick, Scott Besser,
Edward Elliott, John Woodling, and Edward Cramer. Authority members
present were Jim Lambert Executive Director, Cindy Lieto Board Secretary
and Carol Cummings Recycling Program Specialist. Several Municipal
representatives and residents were present.
Approval/Modification of Agenda
Mr. Jim Becker made the motion to approve the Agenda
Mr. Ed Cramer seconded the motion. The motion passed by a
unanimous consent.
Approval of the Minutes from the June 28, 2012 meeting
Mr. Ed Cramer made the motion to approve the minutes with the corrections
for the June 28, 2012 meeting.
Mr. Bob Mudrick seconded the motion. The motion approved by a
unanimous consent.
Public Participation
There was no Public Participation discussion.
Old Business
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 Monthly Activities Report
Carol Cummings reported since the start of the ARD program she has
had 12 offenders complete their 45hrs of community service. The group has
picked approximately 85 bags of trash in those 45hrs. Carol stated presently
she has two offenders from Judge Krawitz, two from Judge Anzini and one
from Judge Whitesell to start her second group of community service in the
Eldred Township area.
Jim Lambert updated the committee on the ARD/Community Service
program. Theresa Merli was a great help reaching out to Judge Germano.
The Authority’s Deputy Chief Officer Pete Tambasco met with Judge
Germano. Judge Germano will send offenders to our Community Service
program who have received citations from our Authority Officers.
Chairman Becker asked if Judge Germano has assigned anyone to our
program as of today. Jim Lambert responded no but the Authority has a few
cases in front of him so we are expecting offenders to be assigned to our
program soon.
Jim Lambert reported to the committee he has updated all the municipalities
about our meeting today asking them to join us.
 Penn Dot report on Juvenile Probation
Bob Mudrick reported as of July 6th 2012 the Juvenile Probation
picked litter on Rt 196 and did a great job. We will end our Juvenile
pick up program in August due to the start of school.
 Update on Discussion with Sherriff’s Department
Chairman Becker reported he has made several attempts exchanging
emails with the Sherriff on meeting dates. As of today we haven’t
been able to coordinate the deputies who managed details of the
program. Chairman Becker is continuing to work on setting up a
meeting date to work on any issues or concerns they may have.
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 Report of illegal dumping cases
Jim Lambert reported on three (3) illegal dumping cases since the last
meeting and two (2) new ones.
One case was in front of District Judge Anzini. The offender illegally
dumped garbage at Freeman Electric’s dumpster as well as in the road
next to it. Community service and a fine were issued.
House hold garbage was dumped in Wagner Forest. We are still
waiting for a court date to be set.
A resident dumped garbage at Constant Court. A citation was issued
we are awaiting a court date.
Garbage was dumped in Emerald Lakes on the side of the road. The
Authority police were able to find evidence, a summons was issued.
Emerald lakes cleaned up the trash site.
The Authority received a call from a conservation officer from the
game commission regarding a tire dump site on Rt314. No evidence
was found and no further action will be taken. The Authority has
arranged for cleanup.
 Update on Deer Program
Bob Mudrick reported the Deer Contract was approved by Penn DOT;
he received an email stating the new contract would be arriving
shortly. Bob stated he will start working on the new contract.
Jim Lambert stated the Authority has been reimbursed the Counties
portion of the Deer program. The County has not been reimbursed us
for the Penn Dot’s or the Game commission’s portion. Our
bookkeeper is working with Amy Rosen to rectify the payments.
Jim Lambert reported to date the Authority has collected 415 Deer
carcasses. We’re averaging 150 Deer carcasses a quarter. First quarter
we collected 174 deer second quarter 178 and in July we have
collected 63 deer to date. Our cost is 2/3 of what was spent in the
previous year.
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New Business:
Creating a Tire Program was brought forth to the committee for
discussion. Jim Lambert stated that he and Don Miller were putting
information together for an amnesty type program. Funding this program is
one of our concerns. The idea of asking each municipality to contribute to
this program is in the plan.
Chairman Becker stated the main cost for disposal of tires is the
transportation cost. Mr. Becker is working on a contact to transport tires to a
recycling facility.
Mr. Joe Battisto said there was a company (Global Inc.) that melted tires,
extracted from the tire, 2.5 gallons of oil, steel for the radial part, and cobalt
(dark part of the tire). Unfortunately this company is no longer in business
but it was said what they extracted was worth more then the tire. Mr.
Battisto suggested the committee look into something along this range.
Ed Elliott asked if anyone knew the name of the sub committee that worked
on signs placed around the community illegally. Signs in the community are
placed on telephone poles, in trees, staked in the ground. It has become a
huge problem in the county. Ann Pilcher responded it depends on each
municipality’s ordinance and what they allow their residences to do. Jim
Lambert commented the sign issue turns into a litter issue when the signs fall
off trees onto the ground. This is a zoning issue. Our officers contact the
phone companies pertaining to the excess abundance of phone books left
behind when dispersing to residents. The phone companies have complied.
This was a task in itself to accomplish.
Chairman Jim Becker asked how long a company can purchase a permit and
how long a permit can be good for. Political signs and business signs are the
main concern. Ed Cramer responded political signs are to be cleaned up
15days prior to election. As for business signs such as 1-800-got-junk, we
just keep on tearing the signs down.
Chairman Jim Becker asked for the assistance of Scott Besser to look into
the laws in Pennsylvania regarding the fee for turning in old tires vs. the fee
charged when a new tire is purchased. What are these fees used for?
Commissioner Suzanne McCool asked what do the drivers that race at
Pocono Raceway do with their tires when they’re finished with them. Jim
Lambert responded Good Year supplies all the tires for each race. They take
the used tires back with them to study and do research for future races. Jim
Becker responded Pocono Raceway has many car racing events other than
the two Nascar races a year. What happens to the tires from these other
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events? We as a committee should ask questions on what the laws and the
rules are and is there any opportunity for enforcement. We could ask Cost
Tire Company about serial numbers on tires if there are any. We need to ask
these questions.
Ed Cramer asked Jim Lambert about the article in the Pocono Record
pertaining to the Authority’s Police investigating a house filled with trash.
Mr. Cramer asked about the Waste Authority’s ability to respond to this case
over the local zoning officer. Mr. Lambert replied as for the zoning officer
it’s different for every municipality and their ordinances. In order for our
Police to respond to an investigation it has to be trash related.
The Waste Authority and Developmental Education Service are hosting The
Great Shred and E-cycle Event sponsored by SBG and is being held at
Halterman's Auto in East Stroudsburg on July 28th. DES will be shredding
important paper documents for residents and the Authority will be collecting
electronics.
Chairman Becker announced the Chamber of Commerce is having it’s pick
of Litter at The Delaware Water Gap on July 27th at 8am. Volunteers are
needed.
Mr. Mudrick stated the Veterans Memorial Bridge has become a bit of a
crisis pertaining to the homeless living under and around it. Penn DOT has
contacted the local police for assistance. The conditions for and from these
people need to be addressed.
Chairman Becker recommended that a call be placed to Pocono Alliance for
assistance.
Mr. Lambert offered to post web blitzes on the Authorities web site for
community functions such as the Chamber of Commerce litter pick. Cindy
Lieto added to the Pocono Record’s Community Calendar the Litter
Prevention, Control and Cleanup meeting dates and times.
Mr. Cramer emphasized on what a great job the Authority is doing with this
program. The minutes and the supervision that has taken place are
outstanding. Mr. Cramer remarked how well the transition with the
Authority has been.
Chairman Becker added how happy he was with the progress that has taken
place and this is why we have committee members. This is why we have a
committee, to offer in any way with in the realm of your abilities support.
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Mr. Lambert stated the more support with litter issues on a municipal level
as well as the communities and businesses the better off we will be.
Mr. Battisto urged for more activists in more municipalities like Chestnuthill
who beyond their call of duty to keep their community clean. Mr. Battisto
stated we will need an educational process.
Mr. Lambert stated there are three things on his radar screen that he would
like to develop. 1) More litter volunteers in gated communities, 2) More
Municipal involvement. (Our goal is to get one representative from each
municipality to attend our one hour meeting once a month) 3) Tire Program.
The more pickers the more volunteers.
Chairman Becker mentioned the Litter Committee had a Litter Round Table
Meeting which meets once every two years. This meeting would get the
municipalities together to discuss issues, and have special speakers such as a
representative from “Keep PA Beautiful”. It was our opportunity to make a
stand on how important our regular meetings were and to discuss important
issues. This is on our agenda for the near future.
Adjournment
Mr. Joe Battisto made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:30am.
Mr. Ed Elliott seconded the motion. The motion passed by a
unanimous consent.
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