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Green Team agreements move forward after public hearings; composting program praised by resident
Summary
The council opened hearings on two ordinances to authorize agreements with the Havre de Grace Green Team: Ordinance 1163 (food forest at Todd Park) received no public comment; Ordinance 1164 (composting collection at Hutchins Park, in partnership with Garrity Renewables LLC) drew support from resident 'Casey,' who cited roughly 200,000 pounds diverted from landfill and urged expansion and budget support.
Havre de Grace, Md. — The city council opened public hearings Oct. 7 on two ordinances that would authorize agreements with the Havre de Grace Green Team for community environmental projects.
Ordinance 1163 would approve an agreement for a "food forest" on city property at Todd Park. The city read statutory authority for the measure (citing Article 11E of the Maryland Constitution and sections 33 and 34 of the Havre de Grace city charter). The hearing drew no public comment and the presiding official closed the hearing.
Ordinance 1164 concerns a composting collection program at Hutchins Park that would involve the Havre de Grace Green Team and Garrity Renewables LLC operating on city property. A resident who identified themself as Casey spoke in favor of the composting ordinance, saying the program has been successful and has prevented roughly 200,000 pounds of waste from entering the landfill by turning material into usable soil. Casey said Hutchins Park is the program’s only current location and suggested council consider budget support in next year’s mayoral budget to expand to an additional site ("up on the hill") to reduce tipping fees and extend the life of the Scarborough landfill.
Council asked for public comments on both hearings; none opposed either measure on the record. No formal votes on the ordinances were recorded during the Oct. 7 hearing — the transcript shows the hearings were opened and closed and that council later continued with regular business.
If adopted, Ordinance 1164 would authorize the city to enter into the stated agreements subject to the terms presented to council. The transcript references Garrity Renewables LLC as the partner for compost operations and repeatedly names the "Havre de Grace Green Team" as the community nonprofit partner.
Next steps: the council may schedule adoption votes or return the ordinances to committee; Ordinance 11-65 (a separate ordinance on first reading) has a public hearing set for Oct. 21.
