* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] ALL [1. INTRODUCTION (5 minutes) – Joe Waltz, Town Manager] RIGHT. SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING THIS EVENING, UH, TO THE MAIN STREET SOLID WASTE SERVICE PUBLIC MEETING. I'M BJ WILSON, FILLING IN FOR JOE WALTZ, THE TOWN MANAGER. UH, WE'RE VIDEO RECORDING BOTH MEETINGS TODAY. THEN WE HAD ONE AT 10:00 AM THIS MORNING AND THEN ONE THIS ONE THIS EVENING. UH, WE'LL HAVE THESE BOTH POSTED ON OUR TOWN'S WEBSITE, UH, FOR OTHERS TO REVIEW AT A LATER TIME HERE TODAY. WE ALSO HAVE, UH, CYNTHIA MOORE MILE AND JOHN CULBERTSON. SORRY ABOUT THAT. WITH MSW CONSULTANTS, UH, THE TOWN CONTRACTED WITH MSW CONSULTANTS, THEY, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO TO PERFORM A SOLID WASTE RATE, UH, STUDY FOR US. UH, THEY'VE DONE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE SERVICES AS WELL AS THE FINANCIALS, UH, REGARDING SOLID WASTE FOR THE TOWN, AND PRESENTED SOME OF THOSE FINDINGS TO TOWN COUNCIL, UH, DURING WORK SESSION THERE A FEW MONTHS AGO. WE'RE HERE TODAY TO DISCUSS, SPECIFICALLY DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS WE HAVE, UH, RELATED TO, UH, THE GARBAGE COLLECTION AND BILLING RATES FOR THE COMMUNITY. DUMPSTERS LOCATED ON MAIN STREET, UH, AROUND PEYTON STREET, JACKSON STREET PARKING AREAS. UH, I WOULD LIKE WHAT, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS ALLOW MSW CONSULTANTS TO REVIEW THEIR PRESENTATION FIRST AND THEN OBTAIN PUBLIC INPUT FEEDBACK, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THERE AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. UH, SINCE WE ARE RECORDING THE, UH, THIS MEETING, UH, DURING THE PUBLIC INPUT, UH, QUESTIONS SECTION OF THE MEETING, I ASK THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, UM, UH, PROVIDE THEIR NAME SPEAKING TO THE MICROPHONE FOR THIS ROUND. WE DO HAVE A, UH, REMOTE MICROPHONE WE CAN USE, SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO AROUND A LITTLE BIT AND, UH, UH, GIVE THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH MAIN STREET. UH, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER HERE TO MR. JOHN CULBERTSON. [2. FRONT ROYAL MAIN STREET SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION (25 minutes)] GREAT, THANK YOU BJ. UH, HELLO EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS JOHN CULBERTSON. I'M A PRINCIPAL WITH MSW CONSULTANTS. UM, JUST BRIEFLY, UH, WE ARE A MANAGEMENT CONSULTING COMPANY THAT SPECIALIZES IN, UH, THE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE INDUSTRY. AND SO WE ACTUALLY WORK WITH CITIES, COUNTIES, SOLID WASTE AUTHORITIES, STATE AGENCIES, UM, ENTITIES THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING PRIMARILY RESIDENTIAL, BUT POTENTIALLY COMMERCIAL IN ALL RANGE OF SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING DISPOSAL, YARD WASTE COLLECTION, SHIPPING, PROCESSING, UH, KIND OF THE WHOLE GAMUT. AND SO, UM, WE, UH, UH, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED, AS BJ SAID, TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEP DIVE. AND I'VE GOT, UM, THIS IS A VERY PURPOSE-DRIVEN PRESENTATION. WE ARGUABLY WILL GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT, UH, SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL, BOTH BROADLY IN FRONT ROYAL AS WELL AS IN THE MAIN STREET AREA. BUT, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY HERE TO INFORM, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LET FOLKS KNOW OUR THOUGHT PROCESS AND KIND OF SHARE THE COLLABORATION THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE TOWN. AND WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK. SO I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF IN THE SPIRIT OF TRYING TO BE AS, UH, AS, YOU KNOW, CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT AND COMPREHENSIVE IN, IN WHAT WE'VE DONE. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S AT THIS SPECIFIC FORUM OR WHETHER YOU WANT TO THINK ON WHAT YOU HEAR AND, YOU KNOW, COME BACK AND, AND REACH OUT TO, TO THE TOWN OFFICIALS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE APPRECIATE THE FOLKS THAT HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO COME DOWN. SO, UM, HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY'S GRABBED A COPY, UM, OF THE PROPOSAL. IF YOU DIDN'T GET ONE, THERE'S, UH, ONE ON THE TABLE HERE NEXT TO THE DOOR. UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT STRANGE. I HAVE TO LOOK OVER MY SHOULDER FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT I'LL TRY TO GO, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY THROUGH ALL THIS. UM, I, I HATE LOOKING AT IT AND READING SLIDES, SO I'M GONNA TRY TO HAVE IT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVERSATIONAL IN TONE. 'CAUSE I, UH, I OUGHT, I OUGHTA KNOW THE SUBJECT MATTER PRETTY WELL. UM, BUT ANY CASE, UH, I'VE ALREADY DONE MY INTRODUCTION, SO I'M GONNA KEEP MOVING ALONG. UM, THE, LET ME NOW SHIFT, UH, REALLY THIS KIND OF BREAKS INTO, INTO TWO PARTS. UM, THE FIRST PART IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE COST OF SERVICE STUDY THAT WE DID AND THE RESULTS THAT WE FOUND AND SOME OF THE OBSERVATIONS WE MADE. AND THEN THE SECOND PART OF THE STUDY IS REALLY WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, SEEK A LITTLE BIT OF IN, OF INPUT FROM YOU. BUT ESSENTIALLY, UM, SO THE TOWN PROVIDES, UH, ESSENTIALLY SOLID WASTE UTILITY SERVICES. UH, THE TOWN PROVIDES, UH, REFUSE RECYCLING, COLLECTION DISPOSAL PROCESSING. AND PREDOMINANTLY IT'S SERVING THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR. BUT WE HAVE THIS MAIN STREET AREA, WHICH WE'RE GONNA GET TO A LITTLE BIT. SO A COST, A COST OF SERVICE STUDY AS WE DEFINE IT, UH, IS IN THE SPIRIT OF A A UTILITY RATE STUDY. SO, UM, I THINK PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY FAMILIAR WITH METER BASED UTILITIES. SO, YOU KNOW, WATER ELECTRIC, THERE'S A WHOLE WHOLE BODY OF, THERE'S A WHOLE, PARDON ME, THERE'S A WHOLE BODY OF WORK ON RATE STUDIES. AND SO WE HAVE BROUGHT THOSE, UH, RATE SETTING PRACTICES FROM METER BASED UTILITIES OVER TO SOLID WASTE. AND THE PARALLELS ARE, ARE VERY STRONG. AND SO WE'VE BROUGHT THOSE PRACTICES HERE TO FRONT ROYAL. AND SO ESSENTIALLY WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH TOWN STAFF TO COMPILE FINANCIAL DATA AND BUDGET DATA AND CUSTOMER INFORMATION AND TONNAGE COLLECTED. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT VEHICLE REPLACEMENT. [00:05:01] WE WANT TO CA, YOU KNOW, CAPTURE THOSE, THOSE ONGOING CAPITAL COSTS. AND SO WE ESSENTIALLY BUILD A BIG FINANCIAL MODEL AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BASICALLY BREAKING THAT DOWN AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CURRENT RATES, UM, FOR ALL THE CURRENT CUSTOMERS, AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THOSE RATES ARE GONNA BE SUFFICIENT TO COVER THE COST OF THE UTILITY. SO IT'S, IT'S VERY MUCH A KIND OF, LET'S BE REVENUE SUFFICIENT, LET'S BE FAIR AND TRANSPARENT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND CHARGE THEM THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF THE COST THAT YOU KNOW, OF THE SERVICES THEY'RE GETTING. SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY BUILDING A MODEL. UM, AND, AND SO FOR THE MOST PART, THIS IS LOOKING AT THE RESIDENTIAL SERVICE, BUT IT ALSO IDENTIFIED, UM, THE TOWN DOES A LITTLE BIT OF COMMERCIAL SERVICE, DIRECT COMMERCIAL, AND ALSO HAS THIS MAIN STREET AREA WITH SOME SHARED SERVICE SHARED DUMPSTERS. AND SO WE ACTUALLY ALLOCATE THE UNDERLYING RESOURCES, UM, TO THESE DIFFERENT SERVICES. SO WE HAVE A DEFENSIBLE BASIS FOR SAYING, WELL, HEY, YOU SPEND THIS MUCH, SO THIS BAR CHART OVER HERE, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE, THE RELATIVE COST OF RESIDENTIAL. SO THE BIG BAR IS RESIDENTIAL. SO AS EXPECTED AS WITH MOST COMMUNITIES, PRIMARILY, UH, THE RESOURCES ARE GOING TO RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION SERVICE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER CUSTOMER CLASSES HERE IN FRONT ROYAL. SO THAT'S WHAT BRINGS US HERE TODAY. UH, AND JUST REAL BRIEFLY, UM, THIS NEXT SLIDE JUST CALLS OUT THAT AS YOU PULL APART, WHAT IS A SOLID WASTE SERVICE? WELL, IT REALLY IS MULTIPLE COMPONENTS. YOU'VE GOTTA COLLECT IT. UM, IF IT'S RECYCLABLE OR PERHAPS IF IT'S, IF IT'S GREEN WASTE, YOU CAN COMPOST IT OR SHIP IT. YOU HAVE TO PROCESS THE MATERIAL, YOU HAVE TO DISPOSE, UM, OF WASTE AT THE END OF LAKE, GET IT TO A LANDFILL. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT TO MANAGE AND PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A MISSED PICKUP, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK OUT. AND SO WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR MODEL, WE'RE TRYING TO PULL APART THE FUNCTIONS SO THAT WE ARE, ARE ACCURATELY COMPILING ALL THESE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TO DELIVER SERVICE, WHICH TYPICALLY COMES ACROSS AS, HEY, DOLLARS PER CUSTOMER PER MONTH, HERE'S YOUR RATE, HERE'S YOUR MONTHLY RATE. UM, SO BROADLY SPEAKING, THIS AS THIS SLIDE SHOWS JUST SOME PICTURES HERE THAT, THAT COMPARE A RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE COLLECTION, WHICH IS ON THE LEFT. UM, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, THAT'S A VERY EASY TO MEASURE LEVEL OF SERVICE. WE CAN MEASURE THE RESOURCES IT TAKES TO SEND A TRUCK WITH A CREW. WE KNOW ROUGHLY THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL, BOTH REFUGE REFUSE AND RECYCLING THAT ARE GENERATED BY HOUSEHOLD. SO IT'S A VERY MEASURABLE SERVICE. CONVERSELY, ON THE RIGHT SIDE WHEN IT COMES TO SHARED CONTAINERS IN AREAS WITH, WITH RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS, SOME COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, SOME MIXED USE CUSTOMERS, WHERE THE TOWN HAS OBVIOUSLY HAS AN A VESTED INTEREST IN MAINTAINING CLEANLINESS AND, YOU KNOW, KEEPING IT A NICE DOWNTOWN AREA AND HAS PUT SHARED DUMPSTERS UP, IT'S MUCH HARDER TO MEASURE USAGE IN A SHARED, YOU KNOW, SHARED CIRCUMSTANCE IN A SHARED CONTAINER. AND SO THIS PICTURE IS JUST REALLY KIND OF MEANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SORT OF A CUSTOMER, WHAT EVERYBODY THINKS OF WITH TRASH COLLECTION. YOU KNOW, THEY, IT'S THE GARBAGE TRUCK GOING DOWN THE STREET, BUT THE REALITY IS MOST COMMUNITIES AND THE TOWN IS NO DIFFERENT. THERE ARE SOME SPECIAL CONDITIONS THAT IT BENEFITS THE TOWN, IT BENEFITS THE RESIDENTS, IT BENEFITS THE BUSINESSES IN CERTAIN AREAS TO HAVE GOOD SERVICE, BUT THAT SERVICE ISN'T MEASURABLE AND ATTRIBUTABLE DIRECTLY TO SINGLE CUSTOMERS AS CLEARLY AS IT IS IN THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR. SO WE KIND OF WENT THROUGH ALL THESE DISCUSSIONS. WE HAD A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TALKING WITH STAFF AND, AND PICKING THEIR BRAINS 'CAUSE THEY HAVE A REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF OPERATIONS. SO WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF PULL OUT, UM, THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. AND SO WE FOUND, HEY, IT'S ABOUT A $1.4 MILLION, UH, UTILITY HERE IN FRONT ROYAL. UM, AND OUT OF THAT, I MEAN, AND THAT BY THE WAY, THAT INCLUDES DIRECT OPERATING EXPENSE, LABOR BENEFITS, TRUCK EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE, FUEL OIL, UH, TRUCK REPLACEMENT, CAPITAL COSTS MANAGEMENT AND ADMIN COSTS, CUSTOMER SERVICE, RIGHT? ALL THE THINGS THAT AN ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO PROVIDE GOOD SERVICE. AND OUT OF THAT 1.4 MILLION, ABOUT 6%, WE FOUND AS WE, AS WE PULLED APART THE ROUTES AND WE LOOKED AT THE STOPS, ABOUT 6% OF THAT GOES TOWARDS SERVING THE MAIN STREET AREA, WHICH IS A COMBINATION OF SHARED SERVICES AND MAYBE SOME, SOME FOLKS MAYBE EVEN HAVE THEIR OWN ACCOUNT, BUT IT'S KIND OF A BIG BLEND OF DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS. SO, UM, AT THE, UM, AT THE CURRENT TIME, UM, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S AN AWARENESS THAT THERE ARE BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS IN THE MAIN STREET AREA. AND THERE ARE TWO RATES. THERE'S A RESIDENTIAL UNIT RATE, UH, AND THERE IS A COMMERCIAL RATE. UM, AND THAT'S GOOD, THAT'S A START BECAUSE TYPICALLY RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES HAVE DIFFERENT GENERATION PROFILES AND NEED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SERVICES. UM, AND THIS, YOU KNOW, AT THE MOMENT IT'S ALL INVOICED THROUGH UTILITY BILLING. SO KIND OF THE RIGHT IDEA, I MEAN, EVERYTHING IS KIND OF ALREADY KNOWN GENERALLY, BUT WHEN WE DID OUR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THE TOTAL COST TO SERVICE ALL THIS DOWNTOWN AREA, UM, IS ABOUT $86,000 A YEAR. SO, YOU KNOW, NOT A HUGE NUMBER, BUT YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT NECESSARILY POCKET CHANGE. AND FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS THAT I'M GONNA GO INTO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, THE TOWN IS ONLY ABLE TO COLLECT ABOUT $15,000 IN REVENUE TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES, TO KEEP THE MAIN [00:10:01] STREET AREA, YOU KNOW, CLEAN AND FREE OF DEBRIS AND, YOU KNOW, EMPTY CONTAINERS AND, YOU KNOW, PREVENT LITTER AND, YOU KNOW, DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT YOU WANT. SO THAT, THAT'S A PRETTY SIZABLE DEFICIT. UM, AND, AND WE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE ADDED A SLIDE SINCE THIS MORNING WE REALIZED WE DIDN'T PUT A MAP UP TO DEFINE WHAT WE ARE CALLING MAIN STREET. UM, THIS, BY THE WAY, AND SO HERE'S A MAP, AND, AND I, YOU PROBABLY, IN FACT, I CAN'T SEE THE WORDS FROM HERE. AND WE, I APOLOGIZE, WE DON'T HAVE THIS MAP IN THE PRINTED SLIDE DECK, SO I APOLOGIZE ABOUT THAT. I'M SURE THE TOWN COULD MAKE THIS AVAILABLE SO THAT THIS MAP IS AVAILABLE. UM, WE WANTED TO AT LEAST PUT SOME BOUNDARIES, UM, TENTATIVELY AROUND WHAT AREA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. BUT I ALSO, UM, WOULD EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS NOT SET IN STONE. I THINK THIS IS HELPING US CONCEPTUALIZE WHAT THIS AREA LOOKS LIKE. WE'VE EVEN, WE HAD SOME TALKS AS WE WERE MAKING THIS, DO WE MAYBE EXTENDED A BLOCK OVER TO THE EAST? SO, BUT JUST SO THAT FOLKS HERE KNOW, UM, ROUGHLY SPEAKING, THIS IS THE AREA WHERE MANY DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, MIXED USE ARE BLENDED TOGETHER. IT'S, IT'S DENSELY POPULATED. THERE AREN'T AS, THERE'S NOT AS GOOD A TRUCK ACCESS. IT'S DEFINITELY NOT RESIDENTIAL CURB TO CURB COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, IN THIS DOWNTOWN AREA. SO WE, WE HAVE ADDED THAT. SO IN ANY CASE, HAVING GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UM, WHAT WE CONCLUDED, UH, AS WE WERE GETTING READY TO MAKE OUR PRESENTATION TO THE TOWN COUNCIL, UH, FIRST OF ALL IT IS OUR PHILOSOPHY, AND I THINK THE TOWN HAS FOLLOWED THIS AND WE THINK THIS IS A BEST PRACTICE, IS THAT SOLID WASTE SERVICES ARE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY, LIKE UTILITY GENERALLY SPEAKING. WE LOOK TO HAVE CUSTOMERS PAY FOR SERVICES THAT IS, YOU KNOW, BEING CHARGED AT A FAIR AND TRANSPARENT RATE FOR THE SERVICES RECEIVED. UM, AND THAT WORKS GREAT FOR TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL, YOU KNOW, CURB TO CURB DRIVEWAY, DRIVEWAY NOT SO GOOD IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. AND WE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF BARRIERS TO, UM, HAVING WELL DEVELOPED RATES THAT ACCURATELY ATTRIBUTE THE COST OF SERVICE TO THE DIFFERENT GENERATORS. 'CAUSE YOU HAVE SOME RESIDENTS, YOU HAVE SOME VERY SMALL SHOPS THAT, MAYBE LITTLE RETAIL SHOPS THAT HARDLY GENERATE ANYTHING. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT SOME RESTAURANTS AND A THEATER AND, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES HAVE DIFFERENT PROFILES. AND SO, UM, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE THE SAME ABILITY AT THE MOMENT, UM, TO HAVE RATES THAT ARE REFLECTING THOSE COSTS. AND SO THE DIRECTION WE GOT IS, HEY, THIS, THIS ISSUE ON THE ONE HAND IS NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT AFFECTS, YOU KNOW, NUMBER OF PEOPLE. SO WE'RE HERE TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON WAYS THAT THE TOWN, UM, CAN FIRST OF ALL CONTINUE DELIVERING REALLY GOOD SERVICE AND KEEPING, YOU KNOW, A CLEAN DOWNTOWN AREA AND REMOVING THE TRASH. UM, AND THEN, UH, ALSO HOW CAN IT RECOVER THE COST TO DO THAT IN A WAY THAT IS FAIR TO THE, UH, THE DIFFERENT PARCELS OF DIFFERENT RESIDENTIAL MIXED USE AND COMMERCIAL ENTITIES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO WITH THAT, THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST PHASE. THAT'S THE BACKGROUND. THAT'S HOW WE GOT HERE TO WHERE, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, BE, WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY, UM, INFORMATIONAL. UH, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO HIDE ANYTHING. WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY GET THIS OUT. AND THE DIRECTION WE GOT IS, HEY, LET'S GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS THAT LIVE HERE, WORK HERE IN THE MAIN STREET AREA. MAYBE YOU'RE, MAYBE YOU'RE ALREADY PAYING SOMETHING FOR TRASH AND YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CONCERNED IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS. YOU DON'T WANNA PAY ANY MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO IF YOU'RE A RESIDENT. AND YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA PAY ANY HIGHER THAN YOU HAVE TO, RIGHT? SO THERE'S, LET'S GET FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS ON, ON WHAT WE CAN DO. AND SO THE SECOND PART THAT I'M GONNA TRANSITION INTO NOW, UH, TALKS ABOUT SOME OPTIONS THAT, UM, THAT THE TOWN COULD PURSUE IN ORDER TO START, UH, CLOSING THAT GAP BETWEEN THE COST OF SERVICE AT $86,000 AND THE $15,000, UM, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO CURRENTLY RECOVER. SO, AND THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE PAY A LITTLE LITTLE ATTENTION HERE 'CAUSE THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS TO GET, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOK LOOKING FOR SOME, SOME IDEAS. BUT, BUT BROADLY SPEAKING, UM, AS WE, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AROUND THE INDUSTRY AND AS WE TALK TO THE TOWN, WE IDENTIFIED REALLY THREE KIND OF BEST PRACTICE WAYS THAT COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE FUNDING THEIR SOLID WASTE SERVICES. AND BRIEFLY, THERE'S A TAX, THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED AN ASSESSMENT, WHICH I'M GONNA GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE. UH, AND THERE IS, UH, LIKE WHAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE, THE STATUS QUO IS UTILITY BILLING. AND SO, UM, THE NEXT SLIDES I HAVE, I'M GONNA TRY TO DEFINE WHAT EACH OF THESE ARE, UH, AND THEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THOSE MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND HOW THEY MIGHT CHARGE DIFFERENT PROPERTY OWNERS OR TENANTS OR, UH, STAKEHOLDERS IN THE MAIN STREET AREA. SO I'M ACTUALLY GONNA START WITH, UH, TRULY A SOLID WASTE TAX. AND, UM, I ALWAYS GET A LITTLE NERVOUS WHEN I TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TAX BECAUSE I THINK, I THINK ATTACKS SOMETIMES THAT WORD IS THROWN AROUND AND USED IN A SOMEWHAT INFLAMMATORY MANNER. UM, AND SO I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR, WE ACTUALLY REALLY ARE TALKING ABOUT A, A SOLID WASTE TAX. THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE ESTABLISHED, UM, A SOLID WASTE OPERATING ENTITY, AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED A MILLAGE BASED ON THE VALUE [00:15:01] OF PROPERTY. UH, AND THEY SET A MILLAGE RATE THAT COVERS SOLID WASTE. AND SO WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT WHAT WOULD THAT, WE ACTUALLY WENT TO THE WARREN COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR, WE GOT DATA, WE LOOKED AT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? AND SO, UM, BASED ON THE DATA AVAILABLE THROUGH THE COUNTY, WE FOUND 50 PARCELS IN THAT AREA. UM, THE TOTAL VALUATION ABOUT $21 MILLION. AND SO A TAX WOULD PUT ABOUT 41 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS OF ASSESSED VALUE. AND, UH, AND SO AGAIN, THIS TRULY IS A TAX, IT'S, IT'S ALMOST NEVER THAT I STAND UP IN FRONT OF ANY CLIENT AND, AND EVEN TALK ABOUT A TAX 'CAUSE MOST COMMUNITIES DON'T LIKE NEW TAXES. UM, CERTAINLY. UM, AND BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT HERE TO RECOMMEND, I'M JUST COMMENTING ON THE FACT THAT THIS IS FAIRLY RARE, BUT LET ME GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE BECAUSE WE'VE ALSO TRIED TO SHOW SOME BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES. THERE ARE SOME VERY STRONG BENEFITS TO A SOLID WASTE TAX. THE MAIN ONE BEING THAT BECAUSE IT'S A TAX, THERE IS A HIGH RATE OF RECOVERY BECAUSE IT IS INTEGRATED INTO YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL. SO IT'S A VERY STRONG FORM OF REVENUE, FRANKLY, FOR THE TOWN, IT WOULD BE A WIN BECAUSE, HEY, NOW THEY'VE GOT A, THE, YOU KNOW, FULL REVENUE TO COVER THE SERVICE. THERE ALREADY IS AN ABILITY TO, UH, PIGGYBACK ON PROPERTY TAX, APPRAISAL AND COLLECTION, SO ON AND SO FORTH. UM, HOWEVER, THE DOWNSIDE IS NUMBER ONE, IT'S A TAX, IT'S A NEW TAX. THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG ONE. UH, NUMBER TWO, THERE CERTAINLY ARE GONNA BE SOME ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGES BECAUSE THE TOWN WOULD NEED TO COORDINATE WITH THE COUNTY ON THE TAXATION PROCESS. THERE WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO BE FORMATION OF A TAXABLE DISTRICT. UH, THERE, AND I'M, I'M NOT A TAX CONSULTANT, I'M ONLY SALT WASTE CONSULTANT. SO PLEASE TAKE SOME OF MY, SOME OF THIS INFORMATION WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, THE TOWN WOULD HAVE TO BRING AN APPROPRIATE LEGAL AND FINANCIAL GUIDANCE TO WORK THROUGH A TAXING PROCESS. WE BELIEVE THEY COULD DO THAT. AND HOWEVER, FROM OUR STANDPOINT, AS A SOLID WASTE ADVISOR, THE BIGGEST, YOU KNOW, A SIGNIFICANT DISADVANTAGE OF ATTACKS IS THERE IS NO STUDY THAT CORRELATES THE VALUE OF A PARCEL TO THE AMOUNT OF TRASH GENERATED AND THE COST TO, TO COLLECT THAT TRASH. AND SO I THINK THE FUNDAMENTALLY ATTACKS IS NOT THAT EQUITABLE. IT'S GREAT FOR THE TOWN, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT THAT EQUITABLE FOR THE USERS WHEN YOU REALLY DIG INTO THE, THE COST OF PROVIDING SERVICES. SO OUR OPTION TWO, UM, AND I'LL TRY TO DEFINE SOME TERMS HERE, IS A, A, A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT OR A NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENT. UM, THIS CONCEPT GETS CLOSER TO MORE OF A FEE THAT IS CHARGING FOR A SPECIFIC SERVICE, BUT IT IS A FEE THAT GETS ADDED TO THE PROPERTY TAX BILL AS A FLAT RATE. AND I, I TRY TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME DEFINING A NON-AD ARM ASSESSMENT BECAUSE IT CONFUSES A LOT OF PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU'RE USING THE PROPERTY TAX BILL AS A BASIS TO CHARGE THIS FEE, BUT IT ACTUALLY IS NOT A TAX, IT IS A FEE THAT WE'RE USING THE EXISTING PROPERTY TAX, UH, COLLECTION SYSTEM IN ORDER TO CHARGE AND COLLECT. AND SO WE CALL THAT A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT OR A NON AVALOR ASSESSMENT. AND SO WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE ASSESSMENT, DID THE SAME THING. SO WE TOOK ALL THE PARCEL DATA AND WE PLAYED AROUND A LITTLE BIT WITH IF WE SPREAD THE COST OVER ALL THE PARCELS, IF WE SEGMENTED RESIDENTIAL VERSUS NON-RESIDENTIAL. AND I, I WON'T READ THE NUMBERS TO YOU, YOU SHOULD HAVE THEM ON YOUR SLIDE IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF AN ANNUAL AND A MONTHLY COST. UM, AND YOU WILL NOTE THAT, UM, THAT WE'VE BROUGHT UP THIS NOTION OF ESTABLISHING RATE TIERS OR ASSESSMENT TIERS. THAT'S THE BOTTOM BULLET ON THIS SLIDE. UM, I WILL COME BACK TO THAT BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S POTENTIALLY AN INTERESTING, UH, AND IMPORTANT, UH, COMPONENT OF HAVING FAIR RATES FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE. UM, IF YOU HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, HAVEN'T, HAVEN'T PICKED IT UP BY NOW, UH, PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES GENERATE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS AND IT COSTS DIFFERENT AMOUNTS TO SERVE THEM BASED ON WHAT THEY GENERATE AND HOW MUCH, HOW FREQUENTLY THEIR PICKUP IS, SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO WE ALSO DID SOME BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF NON-AD ALARM ASSESSMENTS. AND CANDIDLY, THE BENEFITS ARE VERY SIMILAR BECAUSE THEY'RE ON A PROPERTY TAX BILL. UM, IT'S A STRONG REVENUE, UH, MECHANISM FOR THE TOWN. UM, FOLKS TEND TO PAY THEIR, THEIR TAXES. YOU DON'T WANNA GET A LIEN ON YOUR HOME. SO KEEPING THAT BAD DEBT DOWN, AGAIN, IT'S VERY ATTRACTIVE IN THAT REGARD. UM, DISADVANTAGES, THERE'S SOME HIGHER COMPLEXITY. UM, THE TOWN WOULD NEED TO BE WORKING WITH THE COUNTY AND INTEGRATING INTO, UH, NOT ONLY THE REGULAR PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM WITH MILLAGE, BUT THEN BRINGING THIS NOTION OF A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FORWARD. AGAIN, WE HAVE NOT INVESTIGATED OTHER SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS THAT MAY BE IN PLACE IN WARREN COUNTY, UH, OR WITH A TOWN, UH, SO FORGIVE ME, I DON'T HAVE THAT PERSPECTIVE TO SAY IF THIS IS COMMON OR NOT COMMON. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS, HAS BEEN USED VERY EFFECTIVELY. UM, IT, IT IS POTENTIALLY EASIER TO GET RATES OR ASSESSMENTS THAT, UM, ARE, ARE FAIR IN TERMS OF THE SERVICES BEING CHARGED. SO, UM, UH, AND, AND SO THIS ACTUALLY IS KIND OF COMBINES THE STRONG FORM OF REVENUE USING PROPERTY TAXES WITH THE ABILITY TO SET RATES THAT ARE [00:20:01] IN LINE WITH THE COST OF SERVICE. SO, SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE PRETTY COMPELLING WITH NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENTS. UM, AND WE CANDIDLY HAVE SEEN THIS TYPE OF STRUCTURE BE EFFECTIVE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES IN MULTIPLE STATES IN THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE. SO LET ME JUMP TO THE THIRD OPTION, WHICH IS FRANKLY THE STATUS QUO, THE UTILITY BILLING. I ACTUALLY LEARNED SOMETHING WHEN WE HAD THIS, UH, PRESENTATION THIS MORNING. UM, SO YOU'RE FAMILIAR, PRESUMABLY WITH GETTING YOUR BILL RIGHT NOW FOR SALT WASTE ON YOUR UTILITY BILL. AND I JUST LEARNED THAT SOME DOWNTOWN PARCELS HAVE WATER, UH, METERS AND SOME HAVE ELECTRIC METERS, AND SOME HAVE BOTH. AND HELP ME OUT HERE AT BJ, BUT ONLY ONE OF THOSE RIGHT NOW IS USED TO IDENTIFY CUSTOMERS FOR SOLID WASTE BILLING. IS IT? SO, SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT, UM, WE KNOW THAT NOT EVERY BUSINESS AND BUILDING AND PARCEL AND TENANT HAS A WATER OR ELECTRIC METER. SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT, THERE'S JUST A, THERE'S A HUGE DATA GAP, THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF INFORMATION. UM, AND THAT'S FRANKLY ONE OF THE REASONS OF THIS UNDER ACCRUAL IS BECAUSE AS IS COMMON IN MANY COMMUNITIES WITH DOWNTOWN AREAS THAT ARE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REDEVELOPING, THEY'RE GROWING, THEY'RE TRYING TO STIMULATE BUSINESS, THEY'RE CONVERTING OLD BUILDINGS TO NEWER USES AND MIXED USES. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE WASTE GENERATORS IF YOU'RE MARRIED TO METER BASED BILLING. AND SO THERE'S JUST A BIG GAP ON THE UTILITY BILLING SIDE, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH THE UTILITY BILL. SO IT, IT'S GOT, IT'S GOT THAT FAMILIARITY TO IT. AND SO WHEN WE KIND OF DO THE BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES, I MEAN, THE BENEFITS ARE, HEY, THAT'S THE STATUS QUO. EVERYBODY'S USED TO IT. I MEAN, I THINK EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS A UTILITY BILL. YES, I'M USING ELECTRICITY, I'M USING WATER, I'M USING SEWER, I'M USING SOLID WASTE. ALL, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO PAY MY SHARE FOR THOSE SERVICES, RIGHT? SO PHILOSOPHICALLY THAT MAKES SENSE. THE DISADVANTAGES, UH, ARE THAT AT THE MOMENT THERE'S JUST, THERE'S SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT ADMINISTRATIVE AND METER JUST NOT HAVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO USE UTILITY BILLING TO IDENTIFY CUSTOMERS. UM, AND FRANKLY, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IF YOU DON'T PAY YOUR WATER BILL, THEN YOUR WATER UTILITY CAN TURN OFF YOUR WATER. SO YOU HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO PAY YOUR WATER BILL IF YOU DON'T HAVE A METER AND YOU DON'T PAY YOUR TRASH BILL. UH, I'M NOT SAYING FRONT ROYAL RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE THIS WAY, BUT WE JUST KNOW FROM LOOKING AT OTHER, UH, MUNICIPALITIES THAT, UM, BAD DEBT TENDS TO BE HIGHER WHEN THERE IS A SOLID WASTE ONLY BILL BECAUSE THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO ABILITY TO TURN OFF, YOU CAN'T TURN OFF SOLID WASTE, OTHERWISE YOU HAVE A LEGAL DUMPING AND TRASH ALL OVER YOUR COMMUNITY. SO YOU, YOU LOSE A DYNAMIC THAT KIND OF METER BASED SERVICES, UM, HAVE AN ADVANTAGE. SO, SO THERE AGAIN, THE DISADVANTAGES TO UTILITY BILLING ARE, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT SIGNIFICANT IN THAT REGARD. SO, ALRIGHT, SO I WANT TO COME BACK THOUGH TO THIS WHOLE NOTION OF, OF FAIRNESS AND, AND CHARGING RATES THAT ARE FAIR. UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, I MEAN OUR, OUR, OUR OBSERVATIONS AND BELIEF ARE THAT HEY, FOLKS REALIZE, HEY, YOU GOTTA TAKE THE TRASH AWAY. YOU GOTTA TAKE THE RECYCLING AWAY. YOU WANT TO BE, YOU WANNA BE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND AND APPROPRIATE WITH YOUR MATERIALS. I THINK PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY ON BOARD WITH THAT. AND I THINK GENERALLY FOLKS ARE HAPPY TO PAY FOR EFFICIENTLY DELIVERED SERVICE. BY THE WAY, FROM WHAT WE CAN TELL, WE, WE THINK THE TOWN DELIVERS SERVICE EFFICIENTLY AND THAT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT COMES BACK INTO IT. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT IN FACT ABOUT THAT NOTION OF EFFICIENCY ON OUR LAST SET OF SLIDES. BUT WHEN YOU START TO MIX BUSINESSES AS YOU HAVE IN THE MAIN STREET AREA WITH RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS, THEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF GENERATORS WITH DIFFERENT WASTE PROFILES. AND SO A RESIDENTIAL HOUSEHOLD GENERATES A DIFFERENT AMOUNT THAN A SMALL RETAIL BUSINESS, WHICH GENERATES A DIFFERENT AMOUNT THAN A RESTAURANT, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN A THEATER. AND SO YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENCES BASED ON THE CUSTOMER CLASS, RIGHT? SO IF YOU GO DOWN THE ROWS OF THESE TABLES, YOU SORT OF CAN THINK OF DIFFERENT CUSTOMER CLASSES, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE DIFFERENCES BASED ON THE SIZE OF AN ENTITY BECAUSE A SMALL RESTAURANT IS NOT GOING TO GENERATE AS MUCH AND NEED AS MUCH SERVICE AS A BIG RESTAURANT. SO YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENCES IN THE TYPES OF WASTE GENERATORS AND YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENCES IN THE SIZE OF THOSE WASTE GENERATORS. AND SO SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE ACTUALLY UNDERTAKEN SOME ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPED A BASIS, UH, TO ESTABLISH RATES THAT TRY TO GROUP THE BUSINESSES AND THE RESIDENTS INTO APPROPRIATE CATEGORIES BASED ON TYPE AND SIZE. UM, AND AGAIN, IN THE INTEREST OF FAIRNESS TO RATE PAYERS, RIGHT? I MEAN THE, THE GOAL OF UTILITY IS TO BE FAIR FOR THE SERVICES CHARGE WHEN YOU'RE, YOU'RE CHARGING YOUR RATE PAYERS. SO I, WE JUST WANTED TO PUT THESE VISUALS, YOU CAN JUST SEE THERE'S JUST DOLLAR, DOLLAR, DOLLAR, THERE'S NO ACTUAL NUMBERS. UM, THIS DOES TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF DOING THIS CAN COST A LITTLE MONEY TO GO BUILD THE ASSUMPTIONS AND THE RATIONAL BASIS FOR DOING THIS SORT OF RATE SETTING. UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MAYBE THE DOWNSIDE IS IT CAN BE A LITTLE TRICKY, BY THE WAY, THERE IS NO WAY TO DO THIS THAT EVERYBODY GETS CHARGED EXACTLY RIGHT DOWN TO THE PENNY. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE GROUPING SOME BUSINESSES TOGETHER AND, YOU [00:25:01] KNOW, MAYBE EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY MIGHT PAY A LITTLE MORE, A LITTLE LESS, BUT AT LEAST IT'S, IT'S REASONABLE. SO I, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE WE'RE NOT UP HERE TELLING YOU THERE'S A SILVER BULLET THAT WE CAN SUDDENLY MAKE EVERYBODY PAY EXACTLY SCIENTIFICALLY DOWN TO THE PENNY. YOU KNOW, WHAT IT COSTS. BUT WE'RE STRIVING FOR REASONABLENESS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLICITY THAT THE, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TOWN COULD ACTUALLY UNDERTAKE WHILE, WHILE KEEPING FAIRNESS TO THE CUSTOMERS IN MIND. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER ALL THAT. AND SO, UM, SO THOSE, THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE, THE ISSUE, RIGHT? WE'RE THE TOWN'S UNDER ACCRUING REVENUE TO SERVE MAIN STREET. AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT SOME DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND I THINK WHETHER YOU OPT TO, UM, EXPRESS OPINIONS HERE IN THIS FORM OR WHETHER YOU KIND OF WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT AND GO HOME AND, YOU KNOW, WRITE AN EMAIL OR PICK UP THE PHONE AND, AND CALL THE TOWN, UM, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO BE, UH, AS INFORMATIVE AND TRANSPARENT AS WE CAN. AND I THINK WE WOULD LOVE TO GET, UH, AND THE TOWN COUNCIL WAS VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN ACKNOWLEDGING, LOOK, LET'S GO ASK THE FOLKS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE PAYING THE BILLS ON THIS, WHAT MAKES SENSE TO THEM? UH, AND SO I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. NOW I MENTIONED EARLIER THIS NOTION OF TYPICALLY UTILITY CUSTOMERS WILL PAY FOR EFFICIENTLY DELIVERED UTILITY SERVICES. UH, YOU KNOW THAT, AGAIN, YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH ME ON THAT, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S OUR HYPOTHESIS. UM, BUT I WOULD, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO INVITE MY COLLEAGUE, UH, CYNTHIA UP TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME ALTERNATIVES OF HOW THE TOWN MAY BE ABLE TO THINK OF, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES JUST SOME DIFFERENT WAYS, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF, IF YOU HAVE A DEFICIT BETWEEN THIS IS HOW MUCH IT COSTS AND THIS IS HOW MUCH WE'RE EARNING, YOU CAN EITHER CHARGE MORE UP TO HERE OR YOU CAN SAY, GEE, MAYBE WE CAN LOWER OUR COSTS HERE. SO, SO MAYBE THERE'S A, THERE'S A MEAT IN THE MIDDLE IDEA THAT I THINK WE'RE ALSO, WE'RE NOT JUST TRYING TO SAY, OH, WE'RE GONNA CHARGE YOU MORE MONEY. WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT ALL SIDES. AND I THINK THE TOWN TO THEIR CREDIT HAS BEEN VERY OPEN TO HOW DO WE BALANCE, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST WE'RE GONNA RAISE, RAISE EVERYBODY'S RATES, BUT HOW CAN WE JUST REALLY BE LOOKING AND GET CREATIVE AND PROVIDE SERVICES, YOU KNOW, AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE. SO , THANKS JOHN. SORRY. UH, THAT'S OKAY. I'M USED TO IT . UM, SO IT IS SORT OF A DIFFERENT, UH, SERVICE MECHANISM THAN WHAT YOU HAVE NOW, BUT IT WOULD STILL BE A CENTRALIZED SHARED CONTAINER SYSTEM. UM, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SHARED COMPACTORS. SO INSTEAD OF BEING THE OPEN, UH, CONTAINERS THAT YOU SAW IN THAT PREVIOUS, UH, SLIDE, AND YOU PROBABLY SEE WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR TRASH OUT RIGHT NOW IT'S, UM, COMPACTING UNIT. SO IN THE PICTURES THAT YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S MOSTLY AN ENCLOSED CONTAINER, BUT THEY ALL HAVE A RECEIVING HOPPER AND YOU WOULD BE PLACING YOUR MATERIAL THERE. IT'S ABOUT WAIST HIGH IN MOST CI SITUATIONS. AND THEN, UM, SO THESE ARE ACTUAL PHOTOS FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT USE THESE IN DOWNTOWN AREAS. UM, YOU VARIOUS WAYS THAT YOU CAN VISUALLY, UM, ENCLOSED THEM SORT OF AESTHETICS OR ONE'S BRICK WALL, UM, WOODEN FENCES OR THE, THE WIRE MESH ENCLOSURES. BUT THEY, THEY JUST NEED TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO A TRUCK AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE. UM, USUALLY WELL LIT, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR ENCLOSURES RIGHT NOW. ONLY THEY ARE ENCLOSED, UH, CONTAINERS TO TAKE THE, TAKE THE WASTE, BUT, UM, THEY HAVE BENEFITS LIKE PEOPLE CAN PILE THEIR MATERIAL NEXT TO IT AS WELL, BUT THEY DO KEEP IT, UM, WHERE MAYBE VERMIN OR, UM, LITTLE RACCOONS OR WHATEVER ANIMALS MIGHT BE AROUND MIGHT NOT GET INTO IT AS MUCH. UM, IT CONTAINS LIQUID PRETTY BE PRETTY GOOD AND IT ACTUALLY WILL, MOST OF IT IS CLOSED SO IT'S NOT GETTING RAINED. SO IT'S GETTING, KEEPING, UM, THE ODORS MORE CONTAINED AS WELL. AND THEY DO HAVE, UM, OPTIONS OF ADDING AN AIR AIRATION AIR SYSTEM TO IT SO THAT TO HELP WITH ODOR CONTROL. BUT, UM, KEY EFFICIENCY IS MAYBE IT HAS TO BE COLLECTED ONCE A WEEK AND IT, UM, COMPACTS MAYBE 14 CUBIC YARDS TO 35 OR 40 CUBIC YARDS, UM, WITHIN ONE UNIT. SO THEY'RE HAVING TO GO BY MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE WEEK WITH THEIR TRUCK. NOW, AS IN AS WELL AS HANDPICKING AS YOU SAW THE ONE PICTURE, UM, THERE'S NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE GOTTEN THEIR TRUCK TO IT BEFORE THEY SPENT SEVERAL MINUTES PICKING UP THE, THE MATERIAL AROUND IT. SO THE COMPACTORS ARE PULLED BY A TRUCK, UH, ONCE, ONCE A WEEK OR MAYBE TWICE. IT DEPENDS ON HOW FREQUENTLY AND HOW MANY YOU HAVE IN THE AREA. UM, BUT THE BOTTOM RIGHT SLIDE IS SHOWING THE TRUCK, PICKING IT UP THE TOP, UH, RIGHT SLIDE IS SHOWING, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF SIGNAGE THAT'S TRYING TO GET THE, THE PEOPLE, ONCE YOU PUT IT IN, PLEASE HIT THE BUTTON, YOU KNOW, SO IT RUNS UP THE MATERIAL INTO THE SIDE INSIDE OF THE CONTAINER. SO IT'S JUST SEEN AS MORE EFFICIENT, SOMEWHAT, MAYBE MORE SANITARY, UM, AND MUCH EASIER FOR THE STAFF TO MAINTAIN. NOT SAYING THEY DON'T NEED TO GO BY THERE A COUPLE TIMES A DAY, JUST MAKE SURE THE BUTTON HAS BEEN PUSHED. 'CAUSE NO MATTER WHAT [00:30:01] SIZE SIGN YOU HAVE, PLEASE PUSH THE BUTTON. THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THAT THAT WON'T, BUT HOPEFULLY THE MAJORITY THAT WOULD. UM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS IN, UM, TYPES OF SETUPS. UH, SOME PEOPLE WANT TO RESTRICT THEM FROM THE USERS. UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU WOULD INEVITABLY HAVE PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THE AREA PROBABLY BRING MATERIAL IN AS ADDITION TO WHAT'S BEING GENERATED IN THE AREA. BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SECURE, UM, NICE PAD FOR THE COMPACT DIRT'S PRETTY HEAVY. AND THE TRUCK ACCESS ELECTRICAL POWER. SO THERE'S SOME CAPITAL OUTLAY AT THE BEGINNING TO GET THESE, UM, INSTALLED. AND THEN DO YOU HAVE THEM LOCKED OR DO YOU HAVE AN OPEN ACCESS? AND I KNOW OF LEAST TWO PRETTY LARGE SYSTEMS THAT THEY STARTED WITH THEM LOCKED, HAVING TO HAVE A CODE OR A KEY TO BE SHARED BY ONE, YOU KNOW, EACH TENANT OR, OR SOMETHING TO TRY TO CONTROL IT. AND THEY JUST WENT TO AN OPEN SYSTEM EVENTUALLY. 'CAUSE IT'S A, IT WAS HARDER TO KEEP UP WITH PROVIDING THE NEW PEOPLE TRAINING AND KEYS OR WHATEVER THE, THE SYSTEM WAS. SO THERE ARE SOME, UH, CONCERNS THAT WAY. BUT THE ONES I KNOW OF HAVE NOT HAD A SAFETY ISSUE AS FAR AS SOMEONE GETTING IN. YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS A CONCERN, SOMEONE GETTING THAT COMPACTOR AND IT GET RUN UP. BUT TYPICALLY THEY, THEY GET IN THE DUMPSTERS, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET IN THE DUMPSTERS IF YOU HAVE ANY BARS AROUND OR, UM, AFTER HOURS ACTIVITY. BUT, UM, FOR THE COMPACTORS, THEY HAVE NOT SEEN THAT HAPPEN IN THE COMMUNITIES I'M FAMILIAR WITH. UM, AND THEN EDUCATING THE USERS, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS OUT THERE, SIGNAGE, UM, AVAILABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM AND HOW TO USE IT. IT'S NOT QUITE AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS JUST SEEING THE CONTAINER, BUT YOU WANT 'EM TO PUT THE MATERIAL IN AND HIT THE BUTTON. SO THAT'S THE MAIN THING, UH, WE WANNA SHARE FOR THAT OPTION. AND I THINK THE TOWN HAS BEEN LOOKING INTO THAT. UM, BUT THE NEXT STEPS FOR THIS IS FOR YOU. JUST SHARE YOUR OPINIONS OR, UM, FOLKS TO WATCH THE RECORDINGS ONLINE AND THEN SEND IN COMMENTS OR INPUT. UM, AND OUR EMAILS ARE ON AT THE, UH, LAST SLIDE AND SEND THOSE COMMENTS AND THEN WE'LL SHARE WITH THE TOWN. AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, DISCUSS WITH THE TOWN COUNCIL DURING JUNE TO WHAT'S THE NEXT, UH, WHAT THEY RECOMMEND TO PROCEED WITH TO HELP WITH THE REVENUE RECOVERY HERE. CLOSING COMMENTS, JOHN? BJ ACTUALLY I HAVE JUST A QUICK TO ADD. OH, THIS ONE WAS NOT ON THE PRE OH YEAH, YEAH, GO AHEAD. WELL, NO, THAT, THAT, SO FIRST OF ALL, UM, YEAH, THANKS TO EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT. UM, REALLY WE COULD NOT, WE WOULD LOVE REALLY, IF ANY, SO FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S NO OBLIGATION TO GET UP AND SAY ANYTHING. UM, THIS IS INFORMATIONAL. UM, WE WOULD INVITE FEEDBACK AT ANY TIME, WHETHER HERE OR LATER. UM, IF YOU DO GET UP, UM, I BELIEVE WE FIGURED OUT A MICROPHONE, BUT I THINK WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW, UM, YOU, UH, YOUR, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS. WHERE ARE YOU AND IF YOU WOULD CARE TO DESCRIBE KIND OF YOUR CURRENT TRASH AND RECYCLING SYSTEM. IS IT WORKING, IS IT NOT WORKING? WHAT ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT? I THINK IT HELPS US TO GET ANECDOTAL INFORMATION FROM YOU. WE HAVE OUR SUSPICIONS, BUT UM, WE HAD SOME REALLY GOOD ANECDOTAL INFORMATION THAT JUST HELPS US GET A MORE NUANCED UNDERSTANDING. AND SO I WILL GLADLY TURN IT OVER TO BJ TO COORDINATE SOME OF THE TALKING. AND, UH, HE SAID HE WALKED UP AND DOWN THE STREET AND GOT FOLKS' ATTENTION AND I'M JUST HAPPY THAT I DON'T SEE ANY PITCHFORKS OR TORCHES. SO, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR KEEPING IT ALL, ALL PEACEFUL ON THAT, SO THANK YOU. I'M [3. PUBLIC INPUT - (30 minutes)] JUST GONNA LET IT UP TO THE PUBLIC. ANYBODY LIKE TO, DIDN'T LIKE THIS ONE, DOES IT ? GUESS WE'RE NOT USING THIS ONE. YOU COULD, IF YOU'RE NOT WORRIED, YOU COULD ALSO COME UP AND ADDRESS. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. YEAH. UM, SO MY NAME IS EMILY BOYD. UM, I OWN ONE 30 EAST MAIN STREET. I, UM, AM ACTUALLY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO OF THE LARGER RESTAURANTS ON MAIN STREET. UM, MY BUILDING IS MIXED USE. MY FAMILY'S OWNED IT FOR 40 YEARS. UM, SO WE JUST HAVE A SMALL RETAIL STORE STORE, UM, THREE SMALL RESIDENTIAL, UM, APARTMENTS, AND THEN A LARGER LIVING SPACE, WHICH ACTUALLY MY PARENTS CURRENTLY LIVE IN. SO WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN ADULTS PUTTING, UM, GARBAGE IN THE TWO DUMPSTERS THAT ARE IN THE PEYTON STREET PARKING LOT. UM, HOWEVER, EVERY SINGLE TIME WE TAKE GARBAGE OUT, YOU CAN'T GET IT IN THE GARBAGE CAN. YOU CAN'T GET IT IN THE GARBAGE CAN. YOU'RE SETTING IT ON THE SIDE. UM, WE'RE DEALING WITH TONS ESPECIALLY, SORRY, OR ESPECIALLY SINCE THE OPENING OF ONE OF THE, UM, ADDITIONAL RESTAURANTS WE'VE EXPERIENCED. UM, WE'VE SEEN MORE RODENTS AROUND, AROUND THE AREA. UM, AND THEN ONE OTHER THING THAT I, I JUST WANNA ADDRESS IS IT'S BEEN MY UNDERSTANDING, MY FAMILY'S UNDERSTANDING THAT IF YOU, UM, ARE ON THE MAIN STREET AREA THAT YOUR GARBAGE HAS TO BE DISPENSED INTO THOSE TRASH CANS. THERE IS, THERE ARE TWO BUSINESSES THAT I'M AWARE [00:35:01] OF, ONE OF THEM AT 200 EAST MAIN STREET THAT ACTUALLY HAVE THE RESIDENTIAL BLUE GARBAGE CANS THAT THEY KEEP OUT THAT ARE RIGHT BESIDE WHERE MY PARENTS CURRENTLY ARE. UM, AND THAT HAS, SINCE THAT IS, AND IT'S ONLY PICKED UP ONCE A WEEK, UM, WE HAVE SEEN AN INFLUX OF PEOPLE JUST WALKING DOWN THE ALLEY. UM, FOSTER ALLEY IS WHAT GOES RIGHT UP, UM, AGAINST MY BUILDING. PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST WALKING UP AND DOWN THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST RIGHT THERE. YOU'VE GOT TWO BLUE, UH, RESIDENTIAL CANS THERE. IT'S PICKED UP ON WEDNESDAY BY THURSDAY NIGHT, THEY'RE OVERFLOWING. SO IF WE COULD, UM, AGAIN, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY SHOULD BE USING THE DUMPSTERS LIKE ALL OTHER RESIDENTS ON, UM, IN THAT AREA. SO IF WE COULD JUST ADDRESS THAT AS WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT. NO PROBLEM. EXACTLY. AND IT'S SO INTERESTING BECAUSE I JUST COMMENT LIKE, IT'S SO INTERESTING. SO YOU HAVE A PARCEL, THERE'S A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, THERE ARE THREE RENTAL UNITS, AND SO THERE ARE FOUR DWELLING UNITS. SO YOU KNOW, LIKE IN SOME REGARD WHETHER YOUR PARENTS LIVED IN THEIR THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION OR HAD THEIR OWN OWN HOUSE. SORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER. UM, I WON'T REPEAT 'CAUSE I'M PRETTY LOUD, BUT MAYBE THOSE PEOPLE, PEOPLE VIEWING AT HOME MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT PART. BUT ANYWAY, UM, NO, THAT, I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE I SUSPECT THAT YOU WOULD BE OKAY IF THOSE TENANTS AND YOUR PARENTS JUST GOT A REGULAR SERVICE. 'CAUSE THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. AND, AND I THINK, I THINK PHILOSOPHICALLY THAT'S WHERE WE WANT TO GO. IT'S HOW TO BOTH BE ABLE TO CHARGE CUSTOMERS A FAIR RATE. BUT THEN THE WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE HEARING HERE IS JUST THE FACT THAT THERE'S SOME BOTTLENECKS. I MEAN, THERE'S SOME AREAS WHERE THEIR ABILITY, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED AS WE'RE FACTORING ALL THIS IN. 'CAUSE IN A MAIN STREET AREA, WHICH IS A SHARED SPACE, IT'S KIND OF A, IT'S A DESTINATION. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME DOWN, GO AROUND GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, WANTS TO ENCOURAGE THAT. BUT YOU, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD OUT THAT CAPACITY AND FUND IT FAIRLY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY APPRECIATED THAT ANECDOTE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANYTHING YOU WANNA SAY? ALL RIGHT. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE NOTICED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONLY TWO THINGS YOU CAN DO FOR, YOU CAN EITHER GET US MORE TRASH CANS OR MORE PICKUPS THAT WE USED TO GET MORE PICKUPS. WE'RE NOT DOING IT NOW. WHY DID WE CUT THAT DOWN? CAN YOU PUT YOUR, SAY YOUR NAME IN YOUR NAME, THE ADDRESS. RALPH WALLER. 3 0 4 EAST MAIN STREET. WE HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS THERE. SO MY QUESTION IS, THERE'S TWO WAYS TO SOLVE THIS. YOU GET EITHER MORE PICKUPS OR MORE DUMPSTERS. MM-HMM. . I DON'T NOW BJ WAS, I'VE TALKED TO HIM AND IT'S SEEMS LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO LOCATE 'EM. SO THE OTHER QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH INCREASE HAVE WE HAD SINCE THE RESTAURANT'S COME IN? MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. . WELL, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW. DO YOU KNOW? NOT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. WE MAY HAVE THAT INFORMATION. WELL, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO AHEAD, WHEN YOU SAY, I'M GONNA, I KNOW WHAT AN A VALOREM TAX IS, BUT I'VE NEVER, YOU KNOW, I KNOW A NON VALENT WAS NOT BASED ON PROPERTY. I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD THAT EVER USED, BELIEVE IT OR NOT. OKAY. MM-HMM. . UM, BUT MY QUESTION IS HOW MUCH IS THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE NOW, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH MORE IS IT COSTING US? MM-HMM. SINCE THE RESTAURANTS MOVED IN AND WHO'S ABSORBED THE COST AND WHY? MM-HMM. , RIGHT? I MEAN YOU MENTIONED EQUITABLY. MM-HMM. . SO HOW MUCH MORE DID IT INCREASE BEFORE THE RESTAURANTS MOVED IN? MM-HMM. . UH, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. AND I THINK IF I COULD RESTATE, WHAT I'M HEARING IS IF THESE RESTAURANTS WERE JUST THEIR OWN BUILDING AND WEREN'T SHARING WITH ANYTHING, THEY I'M SURE WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM PAYING FOR A SERVICE, A CONTAINER, A SERVICE, NO PROBLEM. IF YOU'RE WHERE YOU'RE SAYING, UM, YOU HAVE A BUSINESS, IF YOUR BUSINESS WAS JUST GETTING JUST THE LEVEL OF SERVICE YOU NEEDED, I'M SURE I'M HEARING YOU WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEMS JUST COVERING THAT. WELL, WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE UNTIL THEY MOVED IN, RIGHT? YEAH. SO, SO THE ISSUE IS NOW, SO THE ISSUE IS THIS, WE'RE MIXING YEAH. WE'RE KIND OF MIXING IT ALL TOGETHER. AND NOW YOU'RE FIGHTING WITH OTHER LARGER GENERATORS. AND IF YOU RECALL THAT TIERED RATE STRUCTURE THAT WE POINTED OUT, THE UNDER THE UNDERLYING DATA THAT BUILDS THAT IS WHERE WE ESSENTIALLY CATEGORIZE RESTAURANTS BY SIZE VERSUS SMALL OFFICES BY SIZE VERSUS RETAIL DOWN. I UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I THINK IT'S ESSENTIALLY TRYING, YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY. BUT THE QUESTION IS, LIKE, I, I ASKED BJ WHY, WHY CAN'T WE GET MORE PICKUPS? WELL, SO HAVING THE, THE BASIS OF WASTE GENERATION LETS BJ BUDGET THE RESOURCES HE NEEDS TO COME AND PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. I, AND I, AGAIN, I'M, I'M GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF THINGS. I GUESS I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE TOWN JUST YET. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD AND FAIR QUESTION, BUT WE, WE LOOK AT IT. NO, THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION. [00:40:01] ABSOLUTELY. SO, SO I THINK WE LOOK AT TRYING TO HAVE THE MECHANISMS IN PLACE SO THAT AS THE, THE MAIN STREET AREA GROWS AND MORE WASTE IS GENERATED, THERE'S A BASIS TO BEGIN CHARGING THOSE CUSTOMERS AND THEN INCREASING SERVICE, YOU KNOW, TO COVER THE NEEDS. I MEAN, I REALIZE COST HAVE GONE UP, YOU KNOW, INFLATION MM-HMM, YEP. SALARIES. I, I RECOGNIZE THAT. SO IS HIS ACTUALLY ? I'D STILL LIKE TO SEE HOW MUCH IT'S COST BEFORE. MM-HMM. THAT'S REASONABLE. YEAH. YEAH. I THINK, I THINK IT'S REASONABLE. . IT'S, UH, YEAH, WE, UM, AND UH, BJ YOU CAN, UH, YOU'LL HAVE TO, I, I THINK WE, WE DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB I THINK DOCUMENTING THAT IN THE RATE ANALYSIS AS WELL. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN RELEASED, BUT I THINK THAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE READILY AVAILABLE. I THINK YES. THE, THE, UH, THE RATE OR THE ANALYSIS WAS IN THE, UH, JANUARY WORK SESSION AGENDA, BUT WE CAN POST THAT AGAIN. OKAY. THANK YOU. SUPER. SO INSTEAD OF THAT NON AVALOR THAT JUST BE A, A FEE, I BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I, THAT NON AOR IS REALLY, IS JUST A WAY OF, OF RECOVERING THE FEE. BUT THAT, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING THE SAME THING ON THAT. SO OKAY. I JUST, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NOTICE RIGHT NOW THAT THE TRASH ISN'T BEING PICKED UP. YEP. YEP. IT'S A MESS OUT BACK. AND SO THEY GOTTA EITHER PUT A DUMP DUMPSTER IN MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. OR MORE PICKUPS. THAT'S MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. . YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET RID OF TRASH, RIGHT? NO, THAT, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE. AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT THE ISSUES ARE. VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. HI, I'M SUE WALLER, 3 0 4 EAST MAIN STREET, AND HE'S QUITE SET UP QUITE A BIT. AND I GO BY THERE, I HAVE TWO DOGS AND I WALK 'EM EVERY DAY AND WE JUST, UM, WE LIVE UPSTAIRS ABOVE OUR SMALL BUSINESS. AND UH, WE GO BY AND I ACTUALLY TOOK PICTURES TOO. AND THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE SIGNS THAT UH, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T RESPECT OF, DO NOT PUT YOUR TRASH, YOU KNOW, YOUR TIRES OR WHATEVER. THEY JUST PUT 'EM ON THE OUTSIDE. THEY DON'T BREAK THE BOXES DOWN AND UH, THEY DON'T, UH, THEY JUST SEW THE TRASH. THEY DON'T CARE IF THEY HIT THE TRASH CAN OR NOT. AND IT SMELLS AND THERE ARE RODENTS AND SCO AND PLENTY OF RACCOONS. WE'VE, THERE'S LESS RACCOONS NOW, BUT THERE'S SOME BIG ONES OUT THERE AND THEY DO GET IN THE TRASH, BUT WE DO GET RATS FROM IT. MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. . AND, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT NICE TO SEE WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE COME FROM OUT OF TOWN AND SMELL AND IT'S ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, AND IT IS THE RESTAURANTS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE IT'S DOWNTOWN. WE NEED PLACES TO VISIT AND, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE PEOPLE COMING TO OUR TOWN TO SEE US. BUT IT DOES NEED, UM, EITHER MORE PICKUPS I WOULD THINK, OR THEIR OWN DUMPSTERS FOR THE RESTAURANTS BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF TRASH . 'CAUSE IT'S A LARGE RESTAURANT. BUT, UM, THAT'S, WELL THANK YOU. AND I THINK, UM, I MEAN IF YOU HAVE, I THINK WE WOULD CERTAINLY TAKE PICTURES. I MEAN, I THINK IN TERMS OF, WELL YOURS IS ABOUT THE SAME AS WHAT I HAD. OKAY. MINE WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING, BUT I THINK MINE MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE MORE TRASH. . NO, THAT, THAT, THAT'S THAT. THAT'S GREAT. AGAIN, THIS VALIDATES THING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME DOWN. SO ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING? I JUST WANNA ADD SURE. I DIDN'T, UM, JUST ASK, AS A PROPERTY HONOR, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT MY VOICE IS HEARD, BUT I DO THINK THAT, UM, IT IS MOST FAIR SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES OF MAIN STREET, THAT UM, THE TAX AND OR FEE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, IS ASSESSED BASED ON BUSINESS TYPE AND BUSINESS SIZE. UM, BASED ON SOME OF THE NUMBERS THAT YOU HAVE IN THERE. I MEAN, THE PROPERTY VALUE OF MY PARTICULAR BUILDING, I DID SOME MATH WOULD BE FIVE OR 6% OF THAT $20 MILLION. I GOT A, I GOT EIGHT ADULTS IN THAT BUILDING. WE'RE NOT GENERATING AS MUCH AS SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES THERE. AND I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE REF REFLECTED ON, ON ANY TAX BILL OR FEE THAT, THAT, THAT I SEE. SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I ABSOLUTELY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE'RE HERE. WE WANT TO HEAR THESE KIND OF THINGS. ANYONE ELSE? NO. ALRIGHT. WELL THANK ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR COMING. UH, WE DO PLAN TO TAKE THIS, UH, TO TOWN COUNCIL, UH, AND DISCUSS IT DURING A WORK SESSION HERE IN JUNE. AND THEN, UH, PROVIDE SOME UPDATES AS WE MOVE ALONG. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.