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REGULAR MEETING April 22, 2019
<br /> and a five hundred(500)year storm. People have lost their homes. So,we are not just talking about
<br /> an abstract concept but a very real issue we are dealing with on a regular basis here. It is not just a
<br /> thought, it is a reality for a lot of people. I want to give credit to all of the young folks that came
<br /> up here and spoke. I know how intimidating it can be at times to get in front of a large room to
<br /> speak. I think they all deserve a round of applause for that. Don't let the pursuit of perfection be
<br /> the enemy of progress when it comes to this. We need to get this done and we need to get it done
<br /> today.
<br /> Randy Przybysz, 828 Kerr Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I am the Executive Director of the Solid
<br /> Waste Management District of St. Joseph County. For those who don't know, the Solid Waste
<br /> Management District is the fancy legislative name for the County's recycling program. We
<br /> participate, or the City, participates in our curbside recycling program where we divert over 23
<br /> million pounds a year, on average, from a local landfill. That is good in that it is recycled and all,
<br /> but, also probably one (1) of the bigger environmental impact that we offer is our Household
<br /> Hazardous Waste Disposal facility. People can bring things from acid, mercury containing
<br /> products,pesticides,old motor oil,antifreeze,combustible old stains and those sorts of things. Last
<br /> year, we took in over 1.2 million pounds through that program of things that would otherwise be,
<br /> in the past, poured in alley or down the drains. This community, as I go around the State as I am
<br /> on the State Associations Board, is viewed as rather progressive compared to some of the others.
<br /> I would love to be able to take this resolution to our next Board meeting and say, now take that,
<br /> too. The District has partnered with the City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, the town of New
<br /> Carlisle, North Liberty and, actually, the entire county residents, for our Household Hazardous
<br /> Waste facility the last twenty (28) years. If there is anything we can do to assist, we would be
<br /> happy to. On a personal note, I also want to say that several of you know that I spent several years
<br /> sitting up where you are as a County Council Member. I do not recall a time that we ever spent,
<br /> nine(9) Council Members, so much time together that we came up with something that this many
<br /> people came and said yes. I applaud you for that. If we would have done that, I would have eaten
<br /> a lot less Snickers and we would have not been passing around a bottle of Tylenol. So, thank you
<br /> very much.
<br /> Joshua Crudup, 17727 Tanager Lane, South Bend, IN, stated, I am a senior at St. Joe. When we
<br /> are in school and we see a person getting bullied, we are supposed to step in and help that person,
<br /> right? This person that is getting bullied right now is the Earth. When we bully the Earth, a lot of
<br /> things are affected. Deforestation, all of these species are going extinct every single day. I just
<br /> want to thank everyone in this room, and you Council Members, for being the person who is
<br /> stepping in and stopping this bullying from happening to this Earth. The Earth cannot speak for
<br /> itself. We have to speak for the Earth. I want to thank you for passing this ordinance. This
<br /> ordinance will go down in history as being the momentum builder. I just want to thank you so
<br /> much. So, thank you so much.
<br /> Adam Mazurek, 14334 Shoreline Drive, Granger, IN, stated, I would like to say that, first(1st) off,
<br /> I hope many of you are familiar with Unity Gardens, I was listening to the things many people said
<br /> tonight, and I thought Unity Gardens is a perfect example of how these things are being
<br /> implemented in our community right now. It has an effect people,providing them with health and
<br /> fresh food, but also eliminating carbon from having food being driven from Florida or California,
<br /> it is grown right here. I think it would be cool to, within this resolution, maybe follow the model
<br /> of Unity Gardens and offer them support. That would be pretty cool if a little funding went to
<br /> Unity Gardens. I think they fit this goal perfectly. Thank you.
<br /> Diana Mendelsohn, 20271 West Brick Road, South Bend, IN, stated, Thirty-one (31) years ago, I
<br /> was a part of organizing the first(1st) Arbor Earth Day Festival at the Colfax Cultural Center. We
<br /> traveled to many parks and I'm remembering back to when Organic Resources started, thanks to
<br /> Loretta Duda and Bob Krasinski and other people. Then, of course, about eight (8) or nine (9)
<br /> years ago, at Howard Park, it was determined that year that Council Members want to build a
<br /> newer and an elite quality level of South Bend Animal Care and Control. It took a little longer to
<br /> build that facility. It was built and over the many years to come, the utilities will be much lower.
<br /> Those are very positive past decisions that were made and I'm looking forward to, my little niche
<br /> will be to get the Parks Department to not use Round Up and as many chemicals and that type of
<br /> thing. Also, I'm a member of the Recycle Advisory Board. One (1) thing I proposed to that
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