Page 12 - Abacoa Community News - July '19

Page 12, Abacoa
Commissioner’s Update

Keep Your Yard Hurricane additional material before a storm makes landfall. Information Services at (561) 697-2700 or toll-free at (866)
792-4636, or visit www.SWA.org/Hurricane. Residents living
State of emergency declarations are made to ensure

Ready that local governments have ample time, resources, and within city boundaries should call their local municipality
flexibility to get prepared for a storm, and are not hindered, for collection guidelines.
By Commissioner delayed or prevented from taking all necessary actions to The SWA is a dependent special district created by
Hal Valeche keep communities safe. the Florida Legislature in 1975. The Board of County
Now that we are in the The SWA works with the Palm Beach County Emergency Commissioners sits as SWA’s Board. The Authority
2019 hurricane season, I Management Operations Center to monitor a storm’s has developed an award-winning integrated solid waste
want to share with you some potential path to determine any facility closures or cancelled management system to handle the county’s waste and
helpful information from garbage, recyclables and yard waste collections in the recyclables. Each year, they process almost 90,000 tons of
the Solid Waste Authority unincorporated parts of the county. Every resident plays a recyclables, burn approximately 1.8 million tons of trash
(SWA) to assist you in role in helping in the efficient removal of debris leading up to generate electricity at renewable energy facilities, and
your efforts to keep your to, and after a storm. produce enough energy to power 74,000 homes.
yard vegetation trimmed to For additional information on debris collection in As always, please contact me if I can be of assistance at
minimize property damage unincorporated parts of the county, contact SWA Customer (561) 355-2201, or by email at hvaleche@pbcgov.org.
and keep our communities
safer in the event of a storm.
To ensure your yard is as prepared as possible: Northern Notes
• Cut back trees and weak branches that could hit
buildings. Dispose Of Plastic
• Thin out foliage so that wind can flow freely through
branches, decreasing the chance of uprooting trees or plants. Bags Properly – Not In
• Containerize small pieces of vegetation in bags or cans
weighing less than 50 pounds when full, and place at the curb Waterways
on your scheduled pickup day.
• Clean your yard of any items that could pose a danger to By O’Neal Bardin Jr.,
you or your neighbors in hurricane-force winds, such as old Executive Director,
lumber and broken lawn furniture, and place them curbside Northern Palm Beach
on your bulk waste collection day. County Improvement
• Place vegetative material from routine maintenance District
at the curb on your regularly scheduled collection day. Americans use about
Unincorporated Palm Beach County residents may place 100 billion plastic bags
up to 6 cubic yards – equivalent to three standard size a year. These include
refrigerators – at the curb. plastic grocery, shopping, Drainage systems blocked by plastic bags have been
• Follow the 6/50 rule: Each piece of vegetation cannot food storage, yard identified as a major cause of flooding in countries like
exceed 6 feet in length or 50 pounds in weight. fertilizer and pet waste India and Bangladesh during monsoon season. More
If you are contracting with a lawn care services company disposal bags. Plastic locally, plastic bags can get caught and damage aerator
for major vegetation trimming, make sure the contractors bags are so lightweight motors and storm water pumps. Aerator maintenance
include the price of debris removal as part of their service. and aerodynamic, that even if we dispose of them costs are higher because of plastic bag debris. Storm
Keeping vegetation under control can help lessen debris properly, they can escape with the wind. They escape water pumps need to function at optimal levels to provide
removal post-storm. Last hurricane season, Hurricane Irma from our trash cans, garbage trucks and landfills and they proper drainage following rain events and storms. They
left almost 3 million cubic yards of vegetative debris on the go where the wind takes them – into storm drains, canals, are critical to many of the storm water systems. If debris
ground. It took three months and cost more than $30 million and lakes and eventually the ocean. Plastic bags remain gets caught in them, they can burn out and not work
to collect and dispose of it all. toxic even after they break down. They don’t biodegrade, properly when most needed.
Once a hurricane threatens, residents should refrain they photodegrade. That means that after sunlight breaks If you choose to use plastic bags, please dispose of
from cutting down whole trees or undertaking major yard them down; they degrade, breaking down into smaller them properly. Do not throw them in the waterways.
or construction projects until after the storm passes. and smaller pieces, until it can ultimately enter the food This not only pertains to shopping bags, but includes
Do not place any debris at the curb if authorities issue a chain. No one can honestly say they know for sure how fertilizer bags, pet waste disposal bags and food storage
Hurricane Watch or Hurricane Warning, because this places a long plastic debris lasts. Estimates range into hundreds bags.
tremendous burden on the collection and disposal processes, and even thousands of years. NPDES tip: Hurricane season began June 1. Make
and there is not enough equipment or workers to handle Besides the environmental aspects of plastic bags, sure your yards and trees are trimmed neatly to avoid
they can cause damage to storm water drainage systems. flying debris during a storm. Dispose of your trimmings
and clippings properly – do not put them into storm drains
Plastic bags clog storm drains and waterways, threatening
Town Of urban environments and creating severe safety hazards. or lakes!

Jupiter News

By Ilan Kaufer, Town Of
Jupiter Councilman
Roger Dean Stadium
In May, the Town
Council approved a site
plan amendment for
Roger Dean Stadium to
allow for the construction
of a batting tunnel. The
Town remains committed
to the great partnership
with Roger Dean Stadium
and the teams and it was great to see another successful
spring training for our local facility.
Police Station/Data Center
The Town continues to make progress towards the
construction of a new police station and hardened data
center. The Town Council approved a change order to
the contract with Kaufman Lynn construction to accept
a guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the
new facility.
Budget Meetings
The Town Council began the annual budget preparation
with its first workshop on June 27. A second budget
workshop is scheduled for Aug. 14. All Town Council
budget meetings, like all council meetings, are open to the
public and can also be viewed live online at the Town’s
website.
As always please contact me with any comments
or questions at ilank@jupiter.fl.us and follow me on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/Councilorkaufer or on
Twitter @Councilorkaufer.