Yesterday, the city’s Resource Conservation Coordinator Lena Stevens asked for resident feedback on future glass recycling options on The Decatur Minute.  (Need to get caught up on this issue? We’ve summarized it a couple of weeks back HERE.)

First, here’s the current situation, as summarized by Ms. Stevens…

Current Recycling Program
Cost: Annual Sanitation Fee $250

• The Annual Solid Waste Fee covers the cost of offering co-mingled curbside residential recycling service in addition to household trash and waste, yard debris and other sanitation services.

• Glass is mixed in with other recyclables and collected at the curb. This will no longer be an option after June 30, 2016

And here are our future options…

Option 1- Continue to Offer Residents the Convenience of Recycling Glass at Home by Separating Glass from Other Materials
Cost: Annual Increase of $25-$35

• Resident separates glass from other recyclables and places it on the curb in its own container during normal collection day.

Option 2- Glass is Not Recycled and Goes to Landfill
Cost: Annual Increase of $10-15

• Resident places glass in pay-as-you-throw garbage bags and the City of Decatur takes it to the landfill.

• Currently glass makes up about 20% of most residents’ recycling.

• Cost estimate includes $5 increase in Annual Solid Waste Fee and cost to the resident for purchase of additional pay-as-you-throw bags.

The city would like you to provide your feedback on which option you prefer over on Open City Hall.  Go and let your opinion be heard!

The Decatur City Commission is scheduled to vote tonight on a lease agreement for land for Google to build a “Fiber Hut” in the City of Decatur.

According to a note from Project Manager Lena Stevens to City Manager Peggy Merriss, Google has selected a 1,600 square foot parcel “on Atlanta Avenue, adjacent to the Ebster Pool pump-house and Police Department parking lot.”

The “10×30 foot structures…house the telecommunications and fiber interface equipment necessary for Google to provide high-speed internet. Each hut supports about 20,000 homes”., according to the Cary Citizen.

Here’s a satellite view of the area (courtesy of Google, no less)…

Additionally, here are the proposed changes to the site and the cost to Google, according to Ms. Stevens’ note…

Photo courtesy of Decatur City Commission agenda.

Just a quick follow up on Decatur’s 25 MPH Speed Limit proposal, which we we reported on in regards to the Citizen Survey a few days back.  (BTW, that post has gone sorta viral since then – both Streetsblog and Planetizen have picked it up)

The City of Decatur Project Manager Lena Stevens tells us that the 25 MPH plan is still alive within the walls of City Hall.

She states that the city is still working through the many questions involved in implementing such a proposal, but one idea on the table is that the city would work with the Georgia Department of Transportation in a pilot program where a selected neighborhood would change its speed limits to 25 MPH as a test case before any wide-spread changes were implemented.

Stevens says the plan is still in development and no neighborhood has been selected at this point.

Stay tuned!

Back in March 2010, Decatur announced it was awarded $500,000, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program through the State of Georgia.  The award would be shared with Dunwoody and Chamblee.

At Monday’s City Commission meeting, Decatur’s Resource Conservation Coordinator Lena Stevens approached with the commission with the first capital improvement project that Decatur would under take utilizing this grant: Glenlake Tennis Center.

According to Ms. Stevens letter to the City Manager (page 48 of the meeting materials PDF)…

The Glenlake Tennis Center was built in 1998.  Except for minor repairs, the building has not been altered since it was first built.  As they are original to the facility, the mechanical systems will likely be in need of replacement in the near future.  The proposed work includes replacement of the HVAC equipment, installation of an electric tankless hot water heater, additional insulation, weatherstripping, sealing ductwork, lighting replacements, and other energy-saving measures.

The $57,000 suggested project budget was unanimously approved by the commission and the project was awarded to Sol Construction, the only bidder on the project.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant is also currently funding the DecaturWise energy efficiency rebate program, which Ms. Stevens mentioned at the commission meeting, had met its quota of 55 projects and was was already deemed one of the most successful programs of its type throughout the country.

While trolling the Decatur city’s website a couple days back, I saw this item on the Environmental Sustainability Board’s agenda from last month…

Coca-Cola Curbside Accelleration Recycling Grant: City is a finalist in the program.  City applying for a $200k grant. Funds would be used for an education campaign and also to provide 65 gallon wheeled bins.

I checked with the city’s Resource Conservation Coordinator Lena Stevens and confirmed that this was still underway.  She replied…

The City of Decatur is a finalist in a grant from Coca Cola called the Curbside Acceleration Recycling Program. We applied for $200,000 to provide rolling recycling carts for those who want them, and also for an educational campaign around recycling. The winners haven’t been announced yet, so we’re waiting with fingers crossed. We had a phone call with Coke representatives 2 weeks ago, and they expected an announcement in 4-6 weeks.

Currently, the only option for Decatur residents – in addition to the free, 18 gallon bins – are 95 gallon wheeled bins that cost $68 a pop.

Beth writes in that she recently spoke with the City of Decatur’s Lena Stevens about Latham Home Sanitation’s recycling guidelines, and “long story short, pizza boxes with minimal food contamination are now acceptable to recycle here in Decatur.”  She also notes that the city’s recycling webpage has been updated to reflect the change.

My wife also recently noted that envelopes with plastic windows are also now accepted.  (That wasn’t the case before, as I recall.)

I’m trying to get clarification regarding milk cartons, since they aren’t on the city’s lift, but the PDF flyer on the website clearly shows a picture of an OJ and milk container under “paper”, even though they aren’t listed.

Not “purple”. Or “blue”. Or heaven-forbid “orange” policies.  No, we’re talking “green” policies.  (I guess “green policies” is a bit more flexible and sounds better than  “chlorophyll policies”.)

Anywho, at tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting, the commissioners are scheduled to vote on two new policies as part of the application process for the Atlanta Regional Commission’s 2010 Green Communities Certification program. Decatur is currently certified “Bronze” by the ARC, while both Cobb County and Roswell are certified “Silver”.

The two new policies are:

1. No net loss of tree canopy for city-owned & maintained properties.
2. Green building incentives, which will give expedited plan review and public recognition to buildings that include one or more the following components: “green building” certifications, solar energy for new construction and Watersense certification for new homes.

For more info on these policies, see Stevens’ note on page 13 of the meeting materials.

Now here’s a question for all you environmental types: don’t solar energy incentives encourage cutting down more trees?