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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991 09-12 EBNHACMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EARLE BROWN NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SEPTEMBER 12, 1991 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee was called to order at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Committee members present were Jody Brandvold, Everett Lindh, Dolores Hastings, Robert Torres, June Scofield and Doug Rossi. Also present was Assistant EDA Coordinator Tom Bublitz. Committee members absent and excused from the meeting were Pamela Frantum and Dennis Morrow. Also absent from the meeting was Council Liaison Phil Cohen. Committee Member John Kalligher was also absent from the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AUGUST 8, 1991 There was a motion by Committee Member Brandvold and seconded by Committee Member Hastings to approve the August 8, 1991, minutes as submitted. The motion passed. HOUSE AND YARD CLEAN -UP PROGRAM FOR EARLE BROWN NEIGHBORHOOD The Assistant EDA Coordinator introduced Mr. Paul Kroening, a planner with Hennepin County's Environmental Services Department. He explained Mr. Kroening was present this evening to discuss options for a house and yard clean -up program for the Earle Brown neighborhood. In response to questions and comments from the committee regarding the "user friendliness" of the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station, Mr. Kroening explained the transfer station serves several purposes and that a happy medium had to be achieved for the various uses. He pointed out half of the transfer station is used for the transfer of garbage and half is used for recycling, including commercial recycling and disposal of household hazardous wastes. As a result of these mixed uses, he explained the facility is bound to have some conflicts between the intended uses. He then reviewed the operation of the site and pointed out that cars entering the site must stop at the scale house, weigh the vehicle and load, receive a weight ticket, unload at the proper location, and weigh the unloaded vehicle again on the way out. The drawbacks of the transfer station include the fact that it is a very large place, over 30,000 square feet; and there is a 9 -12 -91 -1- compromise between the service to commercial haulers and the service to residents. It is not ideally suited to either use and, as a result, is a compromise. The facility is operated by Hennepin Transfer, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Browning Ferris Industries (BFI). Mr. Kroening explained the employees at the facility are not Hennepin County employees, and the County has been trying to work on the service orientation of the employees at the transfer station. Mr. Kroening proceeded to review the brochure explaining what is accepted at the Brooklyn Park Recycling Center and Transfer Station; and in response to a question from the committee, he explained the transfer station does not accept appliances. He explained further that Hennepin County certifies appliance recyclers. This means they must properly remove PCB's found in old appliances, and they must also vent the freon properly when disposing of the appliances. The Assistant EDA Coordinator explained the Earle Brown Committee had discussed an option of how to make the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station more user friendly, and the possibility of holding a Brooklyn Center clean -up day or some type of similar event at the transfer station has been discussed. Mr. Kroening explained the County management has been talking about doing just this type of event, which would make the facility more user friendly. He explained one of the options would be to have more staff on duty on a particular day to accept the waste from this type of event. Committee Member Brandvold suggested the possible use of volunteers to assist in such a program. In response to the use of volunteers, Mr. Kroening commented there are some unique EPA requirements that stipulate anyone transporting hazardous waste must be licensed and must have a manifest for the load, showing the exact types of materials carried in case there would be some type of accident. He explained this presents certain problems when any substantial quantity of hazardous waste is being transported, even in a volunteer situation. He pointed out homeowners can legally transport their own household hazardous waste to the site; but if volunteers are used, this may present a problem in terms of meeting the EPA licensing and manifest requirements. He added he would check this matter out further to determine if there are any options for volunteers to transport any quantities of household hazardous waste. Mr. Kroening explained the County is in the process of purchasing a mobile household hazardous waste facility, which could be set up at virtually any site. 9 -12 -91 -2- The Assistant EDA Coordinator explained he would come back to the committee at their next meeting with a plan for a clean -up program for the Earle Brown neighborhood. NEWSLETTER ARTICLES FOR FALL EARLE BROWN NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING NEWSLETTER The Assistant EDA Coordinator reviewed the drafts of various newsletter articles prepared for the fall Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Newsletter. The topics of the newsletter articles included: code enforcement, an explanation of the Purchase Plus Program, information on the yard waste disposal site in Maple Grove, and an article on a proposed storm sewer project for 57th Avenue North. He explained the articles were in rough -draft form and had to be shortened significantly to work them into a newsletter format. He asked if there were any comments from the committee regarding the articles. Committee Member Torres suggested that doing just an article on the housing maintenance ordinance this time around would be the best way to handle the code enforcement article. This would mean deleting references to the nuisance and health codes. The committee continued its discussion on the newsletter articles, and Committee Member Brandvold suggested the code enforcement article might be approached by describing what the ordinance cannot do as well as what it is intended to do. The Assistant EDA Coordinator explained he would revise the existing article presented this evening and return to the committee with a final draft before the newsletter is printed. PURCHASE PLUS PROGRAM The Assistant EDA Coordinator reviewed the Purchase Plus Program, pointing out it is a new housing finance program being test marketed in Brooklyn Center, Richfield, Red Wing and Rochester by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. He reviewed the Purchase Plus Planner entitled, "The Great Minnesota Shape Up," and asked the committee members for their impression of the document. In general, the members thought the planner was very thorough and provided a step -by -step process for someone to follow; however, the document was very complex and may be quite difficult for the average lay person to thoroughly digest and put into action. The committee continued its discussion of the Purchase Plus Program, and the general consensus of the committee was that the program did provide a unique and worthwhile option to finance housing rehabilitation, particularly home refinancing and remodeling. 9 -12 -91 -3- The Assistant EDA Coordinator noted he would keep the committee le members informed as to the status and success of the Purchase Plus Test Market Program. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Committee Member Lindh and seconded by Committee Member Hastings to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Tom Bublitz Recording Secretary 9 -12 -91 -4-