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Junk Ordinance committee recommends incentives

Group members believe that opportunities to dispose of trash and junk should be more accessible

By RYAN SHERIDAN
Daily Press writer
Moffat County should provide incentives and a more flexible schedule for countywide clean-up days, the Junk Ordinance Advisory Committee reported to the Moffat County Commissioners Monday.
The opportunities for residents to dispose of trash and junk should be more accessible. If any changes are made in how the county defines or deals with trash, it should be done by strengthening the existing ordinances rather than creating another ordinance specifically targeted at junk, said Sue Graler, Moffat County Panning Department director.
Graler relayed the findings of the committee to the Commissioners at Friday’s Moffat County Commissioners meeting.
“The committee felt the county should make the landfill and clean-up days more accessible to people that live too far out to get items to the landfill,” she said. “They think reorganization or setting-up Craig clean-up days differently could help. The advisory committee also feels that the community does not favor a new regulation, a Junk Ordinance.”
The committee advised that the county should investigate ways to add more authority and strengthen the existing regulations. The group is going to review what that might entail, as well as how any new programs or initiatives would be set up, and report those decisions as soon as they are made, Graler said.
One of the options suggested by the committee was a coupon that would allow a person or household to use the landfill at Craig clean-up day rates if they couldn’t make the three-day window that the county usually provides. The coupon would be good for a two- to three-month window. Another option would be the formation of community groups that would offer assistance to individuals or households that are unable to dispose of their trash and junk, and offer incentives for those who offer assistance. What those incentives might be was not determined.
An issue the committee did not offer a suggestion on was the disposal of large items, like mobile homes. The group is still looking at how those items could be dealt with, Moffat County Commissioner Marianna Raftopoulos said.
“We want people to take more pride in how our county and communities look,” she said.
The committee and the county still have a lot of work to do before the final answer to the issue is found, Raftopoulos said.
Amending the present regulations as opposed to creating a whole new ordinance would simplify the process somewhat, since the regulation change would be handled mostly by the Planning Department and county attorney, Raftopoulos said.
The Junk Ordinance Advisory Committee is meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the Courthouse Annex building.
The meeting is open to the public.


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