Page 7 - Abacoa Community News - March '22

Abacoa, Page 7

Government from page 6
Commissioner’s Update

Waste Really Matters • Landfilling – The final disposal option for anything eliminates impediments to visibility and passage over roads,
that cannot be recycled or combusted. and interruptions to storm water drainage systems.
By County Commissioner It is no exaggeration to say that SWA facilities are state- We all know how rapidly vegetation grows in South Florida
Maria Marino of-the-art, most notably the Renewable Energy Facility 2 and that is why it is essential that we maintain our trees and
The Board of County (REF2), which is the cleanest and most advanced waste-to- vegetation on a regular basis. Do not wait until hurricane
Commissioners serves as energy power plant in North America. While reducing waste season to prune your yard. Staying on top of it will save you
the Solid Waste Authority going to the landfill, the REF2 generates 100 megawatts of time, money, and aggravation. If you live on a large parcel or
(SWA) Governing Board. The electricity, enough to power an estimated 44,000 homes and have to perform extensive pruning that will exceed six cubic
SWA is an Integrated Solid businesses. Both REFs 1 and 2 combined produce enough yards, you must either store the excess on your property or
Waste Management (ISWM) energy to power nearly 74,000 households. The electricity hire a company to remove it. The SWA will provide a removal
System. Through this system, is sold to FPL, and these revenues help offset the disposal estimate to you based on a contract rate of $8 per cubic yard.
the ultimate goal is to reduce costs to the taxpayer, keeping your disposal assessments low. If you live within a municipal boundary, the municipality’s
the amount of waste that goes With the continued increase in population and contract with your hauler governs the frequency of collection
to landfills for disposal, while development in the county, the SWA has kept pace with and accumulation allowed. Whether you live in a city or in
being environmentally responsible and fiscally sound. Elements best practices in methods of waste collection to improve the unincorporated area, in a zero-lot-line home or on a large
of the ISWM System include: efficiencies while maintaining a high level of service and rural residential parcel, every residential property owner pays
• Source reduction – Lessening the amount of waste protecting the health, safety, and welfare of our residents. the same rate for garbage and debris disposal services. This
that reaches SWA through educational efforts and incentive The Garbage and Waste Collection Ordinance of Palm Beach is the non-ad valorem assessment at the bottom of your tax
programs. County, Fla., No. 2019-022 regulates garbage collection, bill levied by SWA.
• Recycling – Separating materials from the waste stream, container requirements and placement, and maximum The authority is committed to transparency and
either at the source or by recovering materials from mixed allowable yard waste. accountability for every taxpayer dollar used to provide waste
waste prior to disposal, and turning those products materials Yard waste, a matter of particular interest to many residents, management services. For example, our recycling program
into commodities. is limited to six cubic yards or less a week in the unincorporated enables SWA to sell the recycled materials at market rate and
• Combustion – Using municipal solid waste as a fuel source areas. This limitation allows the hauler to service their routes partner with municipalities as part of the Recycling Revenue
to create renewable energy, while significantly reducing the without significant disruption, and rids the road right-of-way Share Program. For more information on recycling, visit
volume of waste to the landfill. of large mounds of waste that attracts rodents and vermin, and https://www.swa.org/198/Where-to-Recycle.

Let me know how I can assist you by contacting my office
Town Of Jupiter News at (561) 355-2201, or by email at mmarino@pbcgov.org.

By Ilan Kaufer, • Development by art committee of an arts in public Palm Beach
Jupiter Town Councilor program (recommendations)
I hope everyone had • Indoor community space and emergency shelter facility
a wonderful February. It funding discussion County Fire
was great to see so many • Roundtable discussion on medical marijuana ban
community members out at • Paid leave for employees for parental leave, bereavement,
the Jupiter Jubilee. Please military deployment Rescue Fun Fact
find below a few recent items • Create Town environmental Sustainability Plan
I have been working on: New Town Hall
Strategic Initiatives The Town Council voted to move forward with the Bagpipes In The Fire Service
The Town Council held construction of a new town hall. While I voted against
its first meeting on this year’s the project since I think we should be looking at other By Steen Eriksson, Professional Firefighters and
strategic initiatives and will be working to streamline the infrastructure priorities, since the project is moving forward, I Paramedics of Palm Beach County
list at upcoming meetings. This year I proposed several look forward to working with council to make sure the project As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, I want to share a
new initiatives in addition to some from last year that need is kept on budget and we work to ensure that there is space bit of the history of bagpipes in the Fire Service.
continued work. for community use as well as efficient use of space for our Parades featuring fire department honor guards and
Strategic Priorities employees. pipes and drums bands take place across the United
• Identify ways to restore historic oyster population and Thank you for keeping up to date on these activities. Please States, and especially in the Northeast as part of St.
mangroves along waterways make sure to follow me on social media on Facebook at www. Patrick’s Day festivities.
• Continue last year’s objective of creation of a business facebook.com/kauferfl and on Twitter @CouncilorKaufer for This often piques the curiosity about the relationship
advisory council more frequent updates. If you have any comments, questions, firefighters and police officers have with the bagpipes,
• Agenda roundtable reestablishment of education advisory or concerns, about these initiatives or any other Town matters, and how it has become part of our tradition.
committee with focus on overcrowding and redistricting please email me at ilank@jupiter.fl.us. In the mid-1800s, there was a massive migration
of Irish to the United States, mainly to cities in the
Northeast. This was due largely in part to the potato
famine in Ireland prompting people to search for a
better life.
Initially, the Irish were not welcomed here, and as
they searched for jobs, they were usually greeted by
signs stating, “Irish need not apply.”
Becoming desperate to earn money to support their
families, they took the jobs that no one else wanted
because it was a dirty, dangerous and physically
demanding way to earn very little pay and even less
respect. They became firefighters and police officers.
One of the Irish traditions they brought with them
was the bagpipes. In an effort to keep their traditions
alive, the firefighters would play the bagpipes while
at work, and over time it became part of the firefighter
culture.
Few things evoke a firefighter’s emotions like the
sounds of pipes and drums. Feelings of pride and joy
swell a firefighter’s heart when listening to up-tempo
Irish and Scottish tunes at a joyous occasion, just
as the ever-present pride and overwhelming sorrow
breaks the firefighter’s heart when hearing the wail of
Amazing Grace at the funeral for a fallen firefighter
killed in the line of duty.
Next time you hear a fire department pipes and
drums band, please remember just how it came to be
such a deep-rooted part of our tradition.
Steen Eriksson,
Community Relations-HOA North,
Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm
Beach County,
IAFF Local 2928,
HOAN@iaff2928.com

Government on page 8