Selectmen appoint SWAT, Rules members

*Editor's note: This is the full-length version of the story which ran in this week's Reminder.

By Sarah M. Corigliano

Assistant Managing Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW Last Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen interviewed and subsequently appointed members for two committees: the Town Meeting Rules Committee and the Solid Waste Advisory Team.

An update from Regional Recycling Coordinator Arlene Miller indicated that the town's recycling tonnage increased 3.5 percent from July 2004 to July 2005; the town's trash tonnage decreased 26.7 percent from July of last year; and an estimate shows that the town saved $8,733 in tipping fees from the first month of the Waste Reduction Program.

Miller added that the town will soon receive $27,000 in revenue from recycling in FY04.

"It's important [to note] that, in spite of a lot of misinformation and strategy to hurt the project, our goal which was [to put in place] a fair and efficient collection process and a way to reduce costs ... by any estimate we have been on target," she said.

Miller and the Board discussed promoting recycling at town and school buildings to be sure the town is also minimizing its waste.

The Board conducted interviews with several residents interested in being part of the Town Meeting Rules Committee.

The interviews were conducted publicly with the board and Town Moderator Jim Shiels.

The first interview was with Bill Fonseca, who recently ran for an open seat on the School Committee.

"My first concern is, we have no rules," Fonseca shared with the Board. "Mr. Shiels and his predecessor have done a remarkable job in holding order at what is an otherwise chaotic event."

Fonseca was concerned with seating arrangements for voters and non-voters at Town Meeting and also with time limits on speakers.

"[Town Meeting] is the purest form of democracy," he said. "It's a good system, it just has to be tweaked a little."

The next interview was Peter Burns, who said he has attended 25 to 30 Town Meetings in his 35 years as a resident in town.

He also served on the Police Chief Selection Committee.

He said he would like to help come up with a very clear set of rules for Town Meeting that would be distributed to citizens before the meeting so that they will have clear guidelines to follow.

"As long as we continue with the Town Meeting form of government, we have to make sure it goes smoothly," he said.

Melanie Makara said she thinks the Rules Committee is a great idea since the conduct observed at the town's last Town Meeting.

Makara said she has lived in town her whole life.

Donna Utter was also motivated to join the Rules Committee after attending the last few Town Meetings, she said.

"I'm interested because of the [behavior] at the past few meetings," she said. "There was such disrespect shown to the boards, the moderator and to each other."

She said Town Meeting needs to put in place a procedure that "lets people have respect for each other." She advocated educating the public on Town Meeting protocol.

"After that trash meeting ... we definitely need some rules," she added.

Catherine Durkin also said her experiences at Town Meetings prompted her to apply for the Committee.

"My initial reaction was to write a letter ... but when I heard about this [committee] I thought this was the way to go about it," she explained.

"I'm a teacher, and I thought 'these could be my students' parents here,'" she said. "I wouldn't tolerate that behavior in my classroom."

She also suggested posting the night's agenda at the meeting so people will know right away if an item has been tabled or cancelled before they have sat through a long meeting waiting for a particular vote.

She also asked if the Town Meetings are conducted with Robert's Rules of Order, which Shiels said is not required by law.

Board of Selectmen Chair John Claffey said he was encouraged to see so many people volunteer for "some of the drier things," in town govenment.

Next the Board met with applicants for the Solid Waste Advisory Team (SWAT).

Ellen Rowles was the first interview. She said she was interested in serving on the SWAT because she has lived and raised her children in town since 1984 and "it's time for me to give something back to the town."

She was also interested in serving on the Public Safety Committee, as she is an emergency room nurse and can provide her professional perspective to such a committee.

Next was Elizabeth Quinlan who said she wanted to get more involved with the town and was moved to participate in this committee.

"I don't understand why we get so upset about recycling," she said.

Claffey said the charge of the SWAT is to identify and accentuate the strengths of the current Waste Reduction Program, and to identify its weaknesses and present solutions to them. Some residual work from the previous SWAT will involve coordinating sharps collections in town.

He also said that Selectman James Driscoll will serve as the liaison to the SWAT and that the team itself will have to decide whether to vote on a chair person.

The next interview was with Joanne Zemanik.

"I think that recycling is the way to go it's the future. It's reality," she said. "I have been involved with trash since my Earth Day escapades and I just want to help out if I can."

She asked the Board about meeting times and Claffey explained that the previous SWAT met at first each week from about 4:30 to 5 p.m. They eventually met twice a month, he said. However, he said the meeting times for the new SWAT could be different, depending on the needs of the members.

Next the Board interviewed Andrea Morissette.

Morissette said she has been a resident in town for 12 years and has always been an avid recycler.

"I have four people in my house and I never pay extra for weekly trash pickup," she said. "I don't see the problem."

Morissette said she thinks education is the way to go, since she observed that a lot of people were not aware of all the items that could be recycled.

People need to know, she said.

"[Some people] didn't know we could recycle cereal boxes? I mean, where have you been?" she said. "Just about everything is recyclable."

She also said she didn't understand why some residents felt they weren't properly informed of the fact that the SWAT was looking onto the Waste Reduction Program and that the Selectmen were going to vote on it.

"[That information] was published and I'm sorry if they didn't read it," she said. "I think we need to wake up and save money and recycle more."

Claffey also mentioned that the previous SWAT had been looking into setting up a "swap shop" where residents could bring unwanted but usable items for others to take if needed. They were inspired by Longmeadow's swap shop.

Robb Morton was the next interview.

He said he thought the SWAT was a good way to get involved in the town. He said he was on a few committees in the 1980s and wished to help out again.

He also pointed out that, as a former controller at Partyka Solid Waste Management he would bring an understanding of the industry.

"I do think [trash] is a big issue in this community," he said. "The choice is more money if you don't recycle, you pay more."

Next was Charles Christianson, a member of the group Concerned Residents of East Longmeadow, which has been involved in criticizing the way the Board communicated with residents in selecting the new Waste Reduction Plan.

"Honestly, I have become quite interested in the whole issue," Christianson explained. "I'm concerned with the different options available [to the town] and I want to see that things are looked at thoroughly and everything available to us is explored."

Claffey asked Christianson if he understood that the charge of SWAT is not to renegotiate the current program, but to look at its strengths.

"I believe that, in the framework of the current contract there should be means to look at alternatives," Christianson replied.

Next was Sean Coughlin, who wanted to know more about the task assigned to the SWAT.

Claffey said the Board voted on June 21 to continue the SWAT for another year, and to charge it with identifying the Waste Reductin Program's strengths and accentuating those, as well as identifying any weaknesses and suggesting ways to address those. Claffey added that the SWAT would also be asked to track the amount of trash and recyclables collected in town and compare those figures to past collections.

He added that educating the community would be another component, as well as two leftover issues from the previous SWAT: a potential swap shop, and coordinating town-wide sharps disposal for medical waste.

"I feel I am well suited," Coughlin said. "I can track things very well I did a lot of research with numbers from different communities [regarding waste disposal]."

Next was Mary Gray, who said she was most interested in looking into different ways to educate people about recycling.

"I think we have an opportunity to let the town know the benefits and how the program will help save money," she said. She added that she has lived in town for 22 years.

Next the Selectmen interviewed Edward Zemba, another member of Concerned Residents of East Longmeadow.

"I have a particular interest, like Mrs. Gray, in recycling," he said. "Over the last month I have learned a fair amount about recycling and I would like to see recycling continue to increase in town."

Next was Russel Sabadosa, who said if he is appointed to the SWAT he hopes it will his first town appointment of many.

"I would like to help [the town] move forward to educate and communicate with voters," he said. "My family has learned a lot [with the new trash program]."

Sabadosa said he understands the new program will save the town money, but he said he would also like to seek a "win-win" situation for residents who are still concerned about the Waste Reduction Program.

He said he is a professor of Information Technology at Manchester Community College in Connecticut and, in academia, he has seen that most decisions are made by consensus.

"It's always nice to seek consensus and build from there," he said. "All decisions are made by committee in the educational world."

He asked how many SWAT members the Board was seeking.

Claffey said they were looking for seven people and had received 15 applications.

Sabadosa also asked if all the SWAT meetings are public, which they are.

Next was Danielle Bedford, who said she moved to town two years ago and had no idea when she bought her house that there was such a concern with trash.

"Now we're aware," she said. "We have evaluated the way our household is run [and we have] simplified things."

She said she thinks it is important to educate people on how to make recycling easy and also thought it was important for new ideas to be expressed.

"I want to make [the] program soar, not get sour," she added.

Before adjourning for the night, the Board voted to appoint the following residents to the two boards:

Town Meeting Rules Committee William Fonseca, Peter Burns, Melanie Makara, Donna Utter and Catherine Durkin. The committee will also include Moderator Jim Shiels and former moderator Richard Brown, as well as Town Clerk Tom Florence and a member of the former Charter Commission.

Solid Waste Advisory Team Liz Quinlan, Joanne Zemanek, Andrea Morissette, Robb Morton, Charles Christianson, Mary Gray, and Craig Tedeschi.

At press time, Nick Breault, Executive Secretary for the Board of Selectmen, said the SWAT will likely have their first meeting this week for organizational purposes.