2023-11-29 Regular MeetingKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
November 29, 2023
A Regular Meeting of the Solid Waste Advisory Board was held on November 29, 2023, in the
Kodiak Fisheries Research Center.
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Andie Wall called the meeting to order at 5:25pm.
2. ROLL CALL
Staff Brian Price conducted a roll call. Board members present were Kerry Irons, Terri
Pruitt, Larry Van Daele, and Chair Andie Wall and Doug Hogen who attended the
meeting telephonically. A quorum was established. Other members present were
Environmental Specialist Jena Hassinger, Engineering and Facilities Director David
Conrad, and USCG Representative Jenn Nutt.
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
VAN DAELE MOVED to approve the agenda with the addition of discussion item 7.h
"Discussion of Kodiak Brown Bear Trust and the Kodiak High School Bear -Proof Lid
Program."
PRUITT seconded.
ROLL CALL VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNIMOUSLY
4. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
VAN DAELE MOVED to approve the August 30th, 2023 minutes as corrected to
remove the last sentence in Stephanie Mason's visitor comment to clarify Backhaul
Alaska's involvement with Alaska Waste.
PRUITT seconded.
ROLL CALL VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
VAN DAELE MOVED to approve the September 19th, 2023 minutes as amended with
the date corrected to 9.19.2023 instead of the 9.12.2023 date.
IRONS seconded.
ROLL CALL VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNAIMOUSLY
Kodiak Island Borough Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
November 29, 2023 Minutes
S. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF FINANCIAL REPORT
CHAIR ANDIE WALL acknowledged the receipt of the financial report.
Kerry Irons noted the expense tracker recently created and wanted it to be included
underneath the Agenda Item 5. "Acknowledge Receipt of Financial Report" for future
meetings. Dave Conrad added that the Financial Report Proper can be done to
include greater detail for accumulated transactions.
6. VISITOR'S COMMENTS
None.
7. DISCUSSION ITEMS/ACTION ITEMS
a. Strategic Planning & Organization
Chair Andie Wall began review of the Strategic Plan Draft. The board went over the
different outreach events and confirmed who would lead on which events. Events that
had already passed were noted and reported on briefly. The board decided the
Strategic Planning and Organization Draft needed to be updated to reflect what was
discussed and what has occurred within the Outreach Events Chart. All members felt
the Strategic Plan is a helpful tool for effective planning of events.
b. US Coast Guard (if present)
c. Threshold Services Report (if present)
d. Alaska Waste Report (if present)
e. City of Kodiak Report (if present)
f. Engineering & Facilities Report (if present)
David Conrad began the Engineering & Facilities Report. The Landfill Staff received
an outstanding score of 98.5 after DEC inspection. This is the best score the Kodiak
Landfill has ever received to date. Dave felt that this is a high achievement and urged
the board to give thanks to Landfill and Borough Office staff for all their work in the
recent Landfill Cell Closure. Currently, the stormwater is being watched after the
closure and was mentioned that the Cell Closure resulted in the production of more
stormwater. Dave hopes to get the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly out to the Landfill
for a tour of the facility and the work that is being done. It was mentioned that Jena
Hassinger had been in recent contact with The Denali Commission on possible grant
assistance for the design -work of Cell Number 2 at the landfill. The new addition to the
Leachate Treatment Plant was mentioned. The start up has been a challenge, but is
being worked on thoroughly. Dave hopes the plant becomes more beneficial moving
forward as improvements are made.
Jena Hassinger reported on Engineering & Facility's follow-ups discussed at the last
meeting. The artist for the SWAB Coloring Book had been contacted and quoted KIB
her hourly rate for updates and revisions. Jena Hassinger transitioned to upcoming
Kodiak Island Borough Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
November 29, 2023 Minutes
Holiday Event planning and prizes. Two example totes using products EF has already
were brought to the meeting and passed around to the board members by staff Brian
Price. Kerry Irons felt that this event may not need those prize -totes but stated she
liked the idea. David Conrad suggested possibly setting up Christmas Tree Recycling
at 2 locations in town to account for green waste. EF was asked to proceed with the
idea and look more into setting it up.
David Conrad asked Kerry Irons how the America Recycles Day event went on
November 15th. Kerry explained the setup at Threshold's Recycling facility. Products
were given out to members of the public who came to recycle there that day. Kerry
Irons mentioned that the setup was simple and appeared to be effective. By the end of
the day, nearly all items had been given away. Kerry acknowledged the price of the
aluminum bottles that were among the items given out on National Recycling day. She
suggested considering keeping the tote bags and aluminum bottles stocked and
available as a prize items since they are inexpensive and useful.
David Conrad briefly mentioned he plans to contact the Boy Scouts to see what the
situation is for Recycling Christmas Trees this year. Doug Hogen asked how a tree
gets recycled. David Conrad explained the use of recycled trees in the Bells Flats as
an example. The recycled christmas trees are chipped down by the dumpster pad and
left for members of the community to use in their gardens. The chipping could be done
at the landfill if conducted by KIB and wood chippings would be available for varied
uses throughout the community. Doug Hogen recalled wood chips and green waste
being used to make habitats for marine life in the past and wondered if that was a
thing of the past or if it is still done today. David Conrad was unsure if the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game still had such projects ongoing and will look further into
that option.
g. Outreach Reports
Kerry Irons shared with the board a new article that she has been working on. The
focus of this article will differ from previous outreach efforts in the sense that it will
focus on giving items and assistance to non -profits as opposed to just material
possessions.
Kodiak Island Borough Single Use Water Bottles
Chair Andie Wall shared her thoughts behind the discussion item. The idea had come
to mind after she attended an Assembly Regular Meeting where she noticed plastic
water bottles being used. The board proposed ideas that could address this concern
such as gifting reusable water bottles to the Assembly. Logistical issues were brought
up by Borough Staff. The idea is something that the board will keep in mind. David
Conrad planned to speak with the Borough Clerk about this matter. Chair Andie Wall
planned to gather information about single -use disposable water bottles to present to
the Assembly for consideration after David Conrad speaks with The Borough Clerk
about this matter.
PRUITT MOVED to approve the amount of $200 for the purchase of reusable
aluminum water bottles. IRONS seconded.
ROLL CALL VOTE ON THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
L
Kodiak Island Borough
November 29, 2023
Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
Minutes
Proposed Presentation Outline
In place of the Proposed Presentation Outline, Chair Andie Wall shared her and Kerry
Irons plans for the Holiday Outreach event outlined in the Strategic Plan. Chair Andie
Wall had reserved space at the local library for families to bring their old candles to
recycle and paint them. She planned to make a flyer that would advertise the event to
the public and would lead the event. Kerry shared crafting ideas that she had planned
for the event as well. Engineering and Facilities staff began asking different logistical
questions and concerns for the event. The board discussed and would be in
communication with Engineering and Facilities staff to clarify the process at a later
date before the event is held.
Kerry Irons reported that she did not have much headway since the last meeting with
the schools. She brought up the topic of roll -carts for the schools. Larry Van Daele
again was willing to donate old roll carts on his property to the school and other
organizations that could make use of them. Kerry Irons shared the Key Club was
planning to convert a roll cart into a recycling receptacle for the Kodiak High School
commons area.
h. Discussion of Kodiak Brown Bear Trust and the Kodiak High School Bear -
Proof Lid Program
Larry Van Daele began by explaining what events lead to his request to add this item
to the agenda. Larry Van Daele informed the board of a meeting held by the Kodiak
Brown Bear Trust that he attended. Alongside other entities such as Highmark Marine,
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Waste, they had been working with
the Kodiak High School Welding Class for an improved design of bear -resistant
dumpster lids. Larry Van Daele thought of the relationship to Solid Waste
Management and bear awareness outreach events conducted by SWAB this past
year. He thought it was a great opportunity for the Solid Waste Advisory Board to get
involved with the program as something that could positively impact the community if
the designs were to be adopted. It would spread awareness about bear safety
alongside solid waste management practices. Larry Van Daele asked the board
directly if they felt this was a worthwhile outreach topic. The board agreed and wanted
to follow this program to see how they can possibly support & collaborate. David
Conrad made mentions about the solid waste contract and said it would need to be
beneficial to the contract for the design to be adopted. David Conrad suspected such
improvements and installations of bear -resistant dumpster lids would raise bid -rates
for contractors, but stated after that it also takes money to do the right thing. Larry Van
Daele asked David Conrad if he felt this was something that the Borough would
actually use, or if it would be simply a good way to get involved in a small community
project for outreach. David Conrad discussed briefly with him what considerations of
cost and effectiveness would ultimately determine that.
Due to prior obligations of both the Chair and Vice Chair, discussion was closed out to
conclude the meeting at a proper time that would not prevent them from said
obligations.
8. BOARD MEMBER'S COMMENTS
Doug Hogen - In response to the single -use water bottle discussion, I'd like the board
to widen the discussion to maybe an educational, community -wide approach to
Kodiak Island Borough Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
November29, 2023 Minutes
address the issue. Also, I'd like to reinvigorate the discussion of single -use disposable
plastic bags.
Kerry Irons - Go Landfill team! Great job, you guys, and thank you.
Larry Van Daele - I spoke with Nate Svoboda and he wanted to thank SWAB for the
Bear Townhall Meeting held earlier this year. There were virtually no bear issues
throughout the whole summer.
Andie Wall - I will not be available for meetings if they continue to be scheduled on
Wednesdays going into next year due to classes. The next scheduled meeting we
have is for the 20th of December.
9. NEXT MEETING SCHEDULE
The next meeting date was scheduled for Wednesday December 20th, 2023 at
5:15pm.
10.ADJOURNMENT
Chair Andie Wall adjourned the meeting at 6:40PM.
KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH
ATTEST: 12420/20 Z 3 Andie Wall, Solid Waste Advisory Board
�& Chair
Brian Price, Board Secretary Approved on: 12/ 201202
KIB Engineering/Facilities Department
5EP 1 5 24
BOROUGH CLERK'S OFFICE
KODIAK, ALASKA
Kodiak Island Borough Solid Waste Advisory Board Regular Meeting
November 29. 2023 Minutes