07 August 2010
Local happenings
In June, I had the opportunity to visit the Lee Transfer Station with our town administrator and other town officials. The Lee Transfer Station is one of the most comprehensive recycling centers in the state. They recycle everything from used oil to lawn and garden waste for composting. There is much to comment on, I’ll mention just a few of the highlights. I was most impressed with the layout of the building and ease of use for the residents. It is an enclosed building in which a resident drives through to drop off everything including trash. All the household items are under the roof along with the baling/ compacting equipment. We observed a few residents using the facility during our visit. The two lanes for vehicles ran from one end of the building to the other, a drive through recycling of sorts. Just as we organize our vehicles now for our transfer station, the residents of Lee had theirs packed as they moved through the building, the trash being the last bin. Each dump bin was clearly marked for the items accepted and also for non-acceptable pieces. All the recycles were dropped down to a concrete bin where, when enough had accumulated, were baled and stored until taken for recycling. There were also areas for larger construction type waste and for “free” stuff outside of the facility. It seemed every aspect of the center utilized the best practices and they were still looking for ways to improve.
We are a ways off from this type of state of the art center, but it provided the vision we need to move in this direction. I recommend you visit the Lee website to see the complete list of all items we could eventually recycle.
Summer break
The house went into recess for the month of July. All of the bills submitted last year were voted on prior to this time. Because of the complexity or time constraints, some bills did not have enough time to be thoroughly vetted in committee and were put into what is called interim study. This gives the presiding committee an opportunity to hear more testimony before making a recommendation to the full house. Interim Study might also include going on field trips to obtain a first hand experience. In Environment and Agriculture, we participated in a field trip this spring involving integrated pest management (IPM). This came about from a bill before our committee that wants to ban certain pesticide use. The agenda included a visit to a retail nursery here in Greenland that has a very successful IPM program in place! It was good to see our local seacoast businesses and residences have input into the legislative process.
The budget:
During my first session in the house, we voted on the current budget in June 2009. In this budget, state spending increased from $10.4 billion to $11.5 Billion, or 10.5% overall. The lack of growth in the economy has impacted the state budget negatively. The lack of revenue receipts has given the state about a $295 million shortfall. This past June, in an effort to shrink the budget shortfall, the legislature raised a few more taxes and fees. Potential sale of state assets and additional borrowing were also added to help the shortfall. It wasn’t all taxes; there were cuts made to the budget of about $52 million, which translates to 1.6% of the General Fund. More good news for taxpayers, the public outcry against LLC tax and the Camping tax aided in both being repealed by the legislature. There was no more downshifting of costs to our counties and cities, which would shift onto us in the form of property taxes. Unfortunately, $48 million of one time federal money the state was relying on to help fix the deficit has been put on the table by the U.S Congress. We can only hope our receipts meet or exceed budget so we do not continue down this road to an even bigger deficit.
Bayside and Winnicut road light
It is done. Over three years ago, a group of residents on and around Bayside Road came together with the idea of getting a light put in at the intersection of Bayside Road and Route 33. They were very concerned about the flow of traffic through the intersection and didn’t want to wait for a fatality to occur to have a light installed. Through town meetings, warrant articles and advocacy, their perseverance has finally paid off. I want to thank them for their work and championing this cause.
A big thank you is also extended to the men who worked on installing the new lights at the intersection. They did an excellent job directing the traffic and getting us through there during some of the busiest hours. All that and they still came in on time with minimal delays and back ups.
The Fall
As we look forward into the fall, the period for current representatives to file a bill is Mid-September. We have begun researching any potential legislation now so it is ready by the deadline. I will be looking into the right to know laws and changes needed as I mentioned in a previous grapevine article. I am running for another term and hope to serve you again. I welcome your input into any pending or future legislation or just comments as to what we can do better. As always, please feel free to contact me at pamzt@comcast.net . Thank you.