Search
Polls
Latest Forum Posts
| Taking a Knee unclebuck 15-11-08 13:51 |
| Re:Football unclebuck 07-10-08 15:24 |
| Re:Football unclebuck 02-10-08 12:59 |
Login Form
| Recycler feels ignored after city makes new rules |
|
|
| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Saturday, 22 September 2007 | |
|
“If this place shuts down, the only people it is going to hurt is the community and employees.” - Amado Cervantes  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator Along with a thumbprint, people will have to show an identification card and companies must give a check instead of cash if they buy more than $10 worth of items. The rules are a response to scrap metal thefts that have plagued the county. This is the second city recycling ordinance to be instituted this year that affects Patterson Recycling Center on the 400 block of First Street. An owner of the center said the new rules are frustrating and will likely decrease his business. “If this place shuts down, the only people it is going to hurt is the community and employees,” Amado Cervantes said. The council passed the ordinance with no discussion, which is typical when it gives an ordinance a second reading. Second readings are required before the rules become official. At its Sept. 4 meeting, the council discussed the ordinance and passed it with a 4-0 vote. Cervantes said he was not at that meeting because he had not been notified that the recycling ordinances would be discussed. On Tuesday, he waited almost three hours to address the council but was not given the opportunity. Mayor Becky Campo said she didn’t know Cervantes wanted to speak. “If they had comments, they should have indicated that to me,” she said. “Since there were no concerns during the first reading, I didn’t think there was a problem.” Cervantes said he had not been notified that the ordinances were being reviewed. After he found out about the first reading through the newspaper, he said he hoped he would be able to speak to the council before the second reading. “We wanted to let them know what’s going on,” he said as he stood outside City Hall. County Supervisor Jim DeMartini was the one who suggested the new rules to the council. He said he hopes to get the county’s eight other cities to follow suit so no stolen scrap metal can be sold to recyclers in the county. A key to making that happen, he said, is a database mandated by the new rules. Recycling centers would have to keep a daily written record of every piece of scrap metal they buy and submit the record to the police department before noon the next day. Theoretically, that would create a countywide record of scrap metal sales that law enforcement could use to track down materials that had been reported stolen. The new rules come on the heels of rules instituted by Patterson’s Planning Commission in January. Cervantes said he’s been in compliance with those rules and makes sure the scrap he buys is not stolen. Patterson Police Chief Tyrone Spencer said that since those rules were adopted in January, there has been a sharp decrease in scrap metal thefts. However, he supported the new rules, he said, because if the countywide database goes into effect, thieves won’t have any places in Stanislaus County to take their stolen goods. To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 253 Comments
(0)
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed