10-22-73 Council Meeting Minutes

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56 REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 22 1973 II COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING (CONTINUED) hearing held in the past when only seven persons had attended. He concluded by stating that he would vote in favor.of the no- burning ordinance. Councilman Kopczynski wondered what produced the most pollution - -the actual burning of leaves or the pollution caused by the heavy equipment being used to pick up the leaves. He felt this was important to consider because the internal combustion engine was the biggest contributor to the pollution problem. He was of the opinion that the worse cause should be handled first. He stated that he would appreciate some facts and figures from the American Society of Civil Engineers and not just opinions on the leaf burning. Councilman Horvath indicated that the councilmen had a hard job to do, but he felt a councilman must do what he felt was right for the citizens. He wondered if the burning of trash might be started again because of the leaf burning being allowed. He indicated that the Street Department was criticized for the job done last year; however, the fall had been very wet and the leaves could not be picked up with the equipment. He mentioned the time factor also involved last year. He felt the leaf -vac had done a sufficient job in view of the wetness of the fall last year and the amount of rain that had fallen. He defended the administration because they had tried to solve the problem last year. He stated that he opposed leaf burning and indicated that those same people who were in favor of the burning would be the first to complain about the burning of trash and garbage because he felt this would be started by allowing the citizens to burn leaves. Council President Nemeth stated that it appeared that the residents did not want to burn the leaves but have no other way to dispose of them. He indicated that the Mayor had stated that he would try to take care of the problem. As he saw it, the ordinance could either be passed, defeated or amended to allow the Mayor to specify a period of time for the burning. He felt the latter was putting a great deal of responsibility upon the Mayo especially in light of the fact that the Mayor opposed leaf burning. Council President Nemeth did not feel this would be feasible or workable. He stated that another solution would be to refer the ordinance to .a committee to study the effects of leaf burning on the environment. He further indicated that the'cost of leaf pickup would also have to be considered including manpower, land- fills, and maintenance and operation, and the newly annexed areas of the city. He felt the same problem would arise in coming years. He suggested that the facts and figures be brought to the Council for.consideration in the hopes of perhaps finding a solution to the problem. Mrs. Irene K. Gammon, City Clerk, asked permission of the Council to speak. She indicated that she had been offended by the remark made by one of the councilman insinuating that the people who wanted to bur the leaves would also burn garbage. She stated that the residents in Bercliff Estates owned homes valued between $25,000 and $50,000 with one home being valued at $75,000 and even possibly $100,000 She stated that those people would not burn their garbage and trash and that they only wanted to be able to burn the great abundance of leaves in the area. Councilman Horvath came to his defense, indicating that he had not implied that. He stated that he felt the burning would only "open a can of worms" which would lead to the burning of garbage and trash. He felt that the same people that advocated the leaf burning would be the people to object when some of the citizens started burning trash. Chairman Newburn indicated that, until a solution was found, he felt the burning should be allowed. He stated that the Mayor and administration had made the first move for pur- chasing the vac machines; however, he felt the problem was not resolved and, until it was, burning should be allowed for certain periods of time. Councilman Kopczynski stated that political supress, is one of the greatest problems the people are faced with. Mayor Miller stated that, last year, th' Street Department had done a good job on removing leaves within the community in a three -week peril, He stated that the circumstances were very difficult at that time. He explained that the vac packs, were two pieces of equipment purchased for the Sanitation Department and the sucker -type equipment' was installed with the hopes of picking up the leaves. He felt that perhaps there was a special type of equipment but the city could not afford to purchase the equipment that would only be used for the pickup of leaves. He felt that only 10% to 15% of the people in the community have a serio problem with the leaves and that the money must come from'-.the taxpayers in order to take care of the problem. He talked about the cutback of employees in the Sanitation Department. He stated that, if the money was given to him, he could solve the problem; however, the problem would not be'i solved by the suggestions made and the purchase of two or three machines would not solve the proble either. He again commended the Street Department for its work because of the circumstances involve, He stated that he would go along with the Council's recommendation. He added that visability pro -! blems result from the burning besides the pollution problem. Councilman Taylor recommended to Councilman Parent that at least the burning should be allowed according to the Health Department. Council President Nemeth stated that the leaves only fall at certain times; therefore, the burning done would only be done during those times. Councilman Parent indicated that his amendment would still allow the Council to study the matter. He stated that it was only a stop -gap measure. There was a call for the question. Councilman Parent's motion was defeated. At that time, Councilman Parent requested a roll call vote on the issue. The motion was defeated by a roll call vote of four ayes (Councilmen Serge, Miller, Parent and Newburn) and five nays (Councilmen Szymkowiak, Taylor, Kopczynski, Horvath and Nemeth). Councilman Szymkowiak made a motion to take a recess, seconded by Councilman Kopczynski. The moti carried. Recessed at 9:55 p.m. Reconvened at 10:14 p.m. Councilman Parent made a motion to amen the ordinance by the addition of the following in Section 13 -76 (a): "except that leaf burning will be allowed from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the following times during the year: from October to November 15 and from April 15 to May 15 of each year." Councilman Kopczynski seconded the motion. The motion carried. A roll call vote was requested, whereupon the Chairman declared that the motion had passed. Councilman Parent then made a motion to amend Section 13 -77 of the ordinan by adding the following after the figure "$300.0011: "to which may be added imprisonment ". Counci President Nemeth seconded the motion. The motion was defeated. Councilman Kopczynski then made a motion to amend Section 13 -77 of the ordinance by changing the minimum fine from $25 to $10 and th maximum fine from $300 to $100, seconded by Councilman Szymkowiak. Councilman Taylor asked for a legal opinion on the amendment. He wondered if the Council could change the amount of the fine. He stated that he did feel the ordinance as proposed carried too rigid a penalty. Deputy City Attorney Robert Parker advised the Council that they could do so; however, he indicated that, because the imprisonment clause had been taken out of the ordinance, the reference to the 30 -day period should also be deleted as it pertained to the prison sentence. Councilman Miller made a motion to strike the imprisonment clause, seconded by Councilman Taylor. The motion carried. Councilman Parent then made a motion, after a call for the question on the amendment changing the fine to a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $100 and the motion being carried, that the ordinance go to the Council as favorable, as amended, seconded by Councilman Kopczynski. A roll call vote was requested. The motion carried by a roll call vote of five ayes (Councilmen Serge, Parent, Kopczynski, Newburn and Nemeth) and four nays (Councilmen Szymkowiak, Miller, Taylor and Horvath). ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 5053 -69 REGULATING THE PRESENCE OF MINORS UNDER THE FULL AGE OF EIGHTEEN YEARS ON s n