Click www.hometownheadlines.com:
The Buzz of Northwest Georgia:
-What's next for Berry Crossing as CVS prepares to open.
-Still another CVS on the way? Maybe not
-Amid all the Boulevard signage, not a word on the project at meeting?
-Peaks & Valleys: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Monday focus:
-As dollars get tight, options are fewer and fewer for recycling center.
-Key meeting on center's fate set for Tuesday
-Another option for recycling?
New since our morning e-mail alert:
-Latest state business updates from Georgia Trend> Ga. Business
-Wachovia Securities' market summary, three times a day> Market
-Track today's Dow, other markets> Google Finance
-Georgia Political & Policy Digest's daily headlines> Ga. Politics
-Hometown Media: Web, radio, Facebook and more> Hometown
Pollen count starting seasonal climb: Another sure sign of spring--all that sneezing going on and some new yellow tint on vehicles. The Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic's updated Web page shows the region--over the past two weeks--has seen two "extremely high" pollen count days, five high and one moderate and low each. You can track the daily count by clicking> Pollen
-Rain returns Tuesday night. Please see WeatherCenter below.
March 23: Rome's Alcohol Control Commission meeting:
-333 on Broad: This is the new restaurant coming to the former Prickly Pear spot at 333 Broad St. The owners are seeking a beer, wine and liquor pouring license. Owner Jay Shell says work continues on the interior of the former Prickly Pear. Painting and the removal of past debris are under way. Opening day still looks to be around May 1, Shell says.
-Deano's Pizza: The 1800 Dean Ave. mainstay is making a come back with Donald F. Rusaw seeking a beer pouring license.
-New at Midtown Crossing is Amerpacific Rim Bistro. No details yet other than the application for the beer and wine pouring license.
-Several noise and underage sales complaints also are up for review.
-For more on the 5 p.m. ACC meeting, click Agenda
WeatherCenter/brought to you by Roman Court
-Monday: Sunny, with a high near 74. Winds 10 mph.
-Monday night: Partly cloudy, low of 44.
-Tuesday: Partly sunny, high of 74.
-Tuesday night: 70 percent chance of rain.
-For more, click WeatherCenter
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable / brought to you by Riverside Toyota
-Rocky start for 2009 Vols? And should it be 'Rocky Top-less'?> Click Arey
Rome Braves preseason updates
-Former Braves catcher Javy Lopez to throw first pitch Opening Night.
-Single ticket sales under way at State Mutual Stadium
Downtown Headlines
-What's ahead in downtown Rome. Click Downtown
Three-Dot Buzz:
What's next for Berry Crossing: This Sunday, CVS opens the new 24-hour store at the Bypass and Martha Berry Highway. Along with the Wachovia branch, the drug store anchors the Berry Crossing development on 5.8 acres of high-visibility land across from Berry College and Oak Hill/Martha Berry Museum. What we're waiting to see is what's next for that site. No additional tenants have been announced for the planned 20,000 square feet of small shop and restaurant space. We have calls and e-mails into Metro Group.
Further north on U.S. 27: There's been considerable talk about a new, free-standing CVS at or near Armuchee Village, replacing the store already in the strip center. The stand-alone store--which would feature a must-have drive-through window--has been the epicenter of some angst. The question: where to build it. And now comes word that a newer store is in limbo as they wait to see what the Berry Crossing store's impact will be on overall sales.
Did you hear the comment about The Boulevard? That's just it--no one did at Thursday's chamber Business After Hours at State Mutual Stadium. And that's what's odd. Chamber members were swamped with Boulevard signage as they drove into the baseball stadium parking lot. And yet, once inside Three Rivers Club, there was nary an announcement made about what's proposed for the acres surrounding the home of the Rome Braves for the past six seasons (the home opener for season seven is April 14).
Speaking of baseball: Look for the formal announcement of the Rome Braves' new play-by-play broadcaster soon, perhaps as early as today. Josh Caray is not returning for a third season on Talk Radio WLAQ 1410 AM and 95.7 FM The Ridge. A new voice has been hired and we're just awaiting the formal word.
More changes possible for Rome/Floyd recycling program
By Natalie Simms
Times are tough and it seems nothing is out of the grips of the crippling economy, even our local recycling program.
Budget cuts already have forced the Rome-Floyd Recycling Center to cut hours and reduce employees. And now, it is in jeopardy of being closed to the public. Local officials agree recycling is needed but the question is, how to pay for it?
"It's a good community-based program," says Chad Whitefield, right, county commissioner and a member of the Rome-Floyd Solid Waste Committee. "But I am not a fan of throwing money into an inefficient program. We've got to find a way to do it better and more efficiently."
The Rome-Floyd Recycling Center is a joint city/county agency that is managed by the Floyd County Public Works Department. The City of Rome uses the center as a place to bring its collected recycling materials from its curbside pick-up, while Floyd County uses the center to bring items from its seven remote collection sites in the county. The center also has drop-off bins available 24/7 at its location on Watters Street; and during its business hours, collects household hazardous waste, computers and electronics and offers a buy-back program for aluminum products.
"In January (2009), we went to a Tier 2 approach, where we cut back our hours to four days a week and we are operating without a general manager," says Michael Skeen, Floyd County Public Works Director. "And, then in February, we were asked to cut our expenses even more, so we are looking at a number of different options."
2008 total: 10 million pounds of recyclables
In 2008, the Recycling Center received more than 10 million pounds of recyclable materials and saved 33,179 cubic yards of landfill space. This is not a "small" problem to fix. Since it opened in 1988, Skeen says the center has never been profitable but it earned enough revenue from the resale of its recyclables to cover the majority of its operating expenses. It also receives a subsidy from the Solid Waste Committee, which has varied each year depending on the amount of revenues the center collected. The average subsidy over the past 17 years has been about $125,000 a year, says Marta Turner, retired manager of the Recycling Center.
"The center never made enough money to pay all its expenses," Turner says. "So, jointly, the city and county have always agreed to subsidize the remainder of the budget. The question now is how much can they afford? The problem is that the (recycling) markets are so low, we are not making the revenues we have in the past."
The subsidy for 2008 was $40,000 and the projected shortfall for 2009 is $490,000 if the center had maintained operations at a Tier 1 with full staff. Skeen says he has been asked to get the center's budget subsidy down to $210,000, which includes $160,000 to maintain the center's operations and $50,000 for household hazardous waste disposal.
"We really have a more optimistic outlook now than we did in January," Turner says. "There is a small rise in the commodities. For example, cardboard went up considerably. Last year, it was paying $140 a ton and then it dropped in January to $20 per ton but now it is back up to $55 a ton."
Until the markets go back up, government officials have to find ways to continue to maintain some type of recycling program on a shoestring budget.
"We are taking a look at everything we do," says Rome City Manager John Bennett. "We are looking at recycling in particular because of the market changes. Right now, we don't have any definite plans to change our curbside pickup, but we could save a lot of money if we didn't have it."
Bennett says city officials are looking into a comingled system where all recyclables are collected together and not separated into categories of paper, plastic, aluminum and glass. Garbage trucks would then be used to collect the recyclables and transfer them to the recycling center. This would eliminate all the extra fuel expense from multiple trips made with the current process.
And, if the decision is made to end the curbside pickup, Bennett says the city would have a number of recycling drop-off spots around the city for collection similar to the county's collection system.
Privatize or stay the course?
Officials currently are putting together Request for Proposals to have a private business transport all the comingled materials to a facility in Kennesaw. In this proposal, the Recycling Center would serve as a transport center. The question remains if there is enough funding to keep the center open to the public.
"It is certainly not our intent to close the center," says Kim Canada, right, Rome city commissioner and a member of Solid Waste Committee. "If we privatize, we hope to still have curbside pickup and the county will have remote collection sites. Our community is very much in support of recycling."
In fact, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs recently completed a statewide survey that reveals strong support and demand for recycling programs. According to the survey, 97 percent of Georgians feel that recycling should be a high priority for their fellow residents. And when it comes to current recycling behavior, 84 percent of Georgia residents have recycled something in the past 12 months.
The importance is there but funding the recycling program is now the barrier. Turner says she has asked officials to consider adding a "solid tax fee" of $6 to property tax bill.
"This is just 50 cents a month to keep our program in place. It's the cost of a soft drink a month," Turner says. "Isn't that enough to keep it out of the landfill?"
Commissioners are opposed to adding any additional tax. "We are taxed to death," Canada says. "We have to find a better way to offset the cost."
One thing is for sure: there are several options to discuss.
For now the Recycling Center remains open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Officials said even if it were to close, it wouldn't do so before June.
Commissioners will discuss the future of the recycling program at the Solid Waste Committee Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, at 1 p.m. in the Sam King Room at City Hall. Citizens are encouraged to attend the meeting or contact their representatives for input. Minutes from the February meeting> Click
Another option for recycling
Paper Recovery of Georgia is collecting paper and magazines to raise money for the William S. Davis Homeless Shelter and United Way of Rome-Floyd County.
A collection bin has been placed at the old Kroger location on Hicks Drive. You can dropoff all paper and fiber products such as newspapers, magazines, old mail, cereal boxes and office paper. Each organization will receive funds from the sale of the recyclable material.
Paper Recovery owner Ira Levy is seeking other companies to participate by putting collection bins at their location. For more information, contact Paper Recovery at 706-291-2988.
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Peak to the Rome Symphony Orchestra's 'freebie' deal: RSO is offering free tickets to the Saturday, March 28, concert to all those who have been laid off or have lost jobs. It is a kind gesture that those out of work won't forget in coming years.
Valley to the traffic circle on Chatillon Road: This two-lane provides a nice, quick connector between Riverside Parkway and Broad Street. It is a great "relief" bypass getting to and from a Rome Braves game as well. But now comes a mostly useless traffic circle that includes a turn to the new annex road to the Bypass. So rather than helping move traffic, it impedes it. Or are we talking in circles?
Valley to legislative budget cutters: The latest blood on the floor--$1.9 million for the renovation of Rockmart's library. Why is it that educational needs, from libraries to classrooms, and the arts and even health issues seem to get hit the hardest? We wonder how much would be saved by cutting lawmakers' salaries and support staff/office budgets? Enough to save a library or classroom, perhaps?
Valley to the state Department of Revenue: We haven't been a fan since all that Cabela's mess a few years ago. The latest: the error in the sales tax percentage for Rome/Floyd businesses--and then playing alleged late notice of the election results. Sad--especially when the election in question occurred six months earlier! We're assuming the person responsible for correcting the note was on a budget-saving furlough that day.
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