With only 2 hearings left, more than 100 concerned citizens attended a hearing held on July 18, by RW Beck, the public relations firm Gwinnett County has hired to hold hearings and present recommendations for a trash plan to the Board of Commissioners.
Members of What a Waste Gwinnett attended the meeting today and witnessed an overwhelming majority speaking in opposition to any plan run by Gwinnett County government. People also spoke in opposition to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful ever having a role in any trash plan in Gwinnett County.
Despite the fact that Gwinnett County’s citizen advisory committee already held meetings and took public input, one must wonder why the BOC finds it necessary to use taxpayer dollars to fund yet another series of hearings…this time conducted by a professional PR Firm. They knew how the citizens felt before, and they feel the same way now. They want the government out of the trash business.
Comments from today’s meeting came from across unincorporated Gwinnett county, including a comment from a former member of the Citizen Advisory Committee, who stated that Gwinnett County is ALREADY in compliance with a state mandated trash plan system, and that there is no need to have a new one. One citizen commented that the Board of Commissioners is trying to come up with a solution to a problem that does not exist.
At the end of the hearing, the PR Firm representatives had an “exercise” for people…they placed posters along a wall and asked people to put blue stickers on what was most important to them. This has been done at other hearings, always resulting in the most stickers being put on “freedom to choose your own hauler.” This time, the posters were placed so that when people went through the line, the poster with “freedom to choose” was last. Despite the location of the posters, “freedom to choose” was the overwhelming victor, while “everyone has the same service” had only one sticker. See photos….
Despite the fact that more than 100 citizens took time out of their Saturday morning to attend this 10 AM hearing, not ONE member of the Board of Commissioners was present to hear concerns from citizens.
***One more hearing Saturday, July 25th at 10 AM at George Pierce Community Center in Suwanee. Please attend and be heard!
I think we all will pay for this debacle, even if we live in a city within Gwinnett. Please make sure others are aware of this, and let your voice be heard. If you don’t show up at one of the hearings, you may limit your right to complain about what they do regarding trash and garbage in unincorporated Gwinnett County.
Eight hearings were scheduled; Only One more hearing available:
Sat., July 25 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at George Pierce Park Community Recreation Center, 55 Buford Hwy., Suwanee
Comment by John Cook — July 19, 2009 @ 5:31 pm |