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Plastic bag tax proposal shelved

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Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com on 3/12/2008

A proposed ordinance that would have placed a tax on plastic bags at grocery stores never made it off the ground and will instead be replaced by a public relations effort spearheaded by the town.

Councilwoman Katie Kruger, who represents District 1 in Castle Rock, took the proposal off the table at a March 4 Town Council meeting, saying she knew it "wasn't going to fly."

Kruger said there likely wouldn't have been enough time to promote the measure to voters.

"It appears that bringing this to the ballot is just not going to be an option," she said.

The measure would have placed a tax on plastic bags at grocery stores. It would have had to have been approved by voters on the ballot.

Mayor Randy Reed said he feels the issue of encouraging the use of reusable bags should be voluntary.

"I never felt really comfortable with a tax on plastic bags," Reed said. "But I must say that I've learned a lot about the effect of plastic bags on the environment. I would really like to see a voluntary program be successful."

Reed said council will work with the town's community relations department to advertise the benefits of reusable bags through the town's newsletter.

Kruger pointed to a similar tax that was passed on plastic bags in Ireland.

According to an article in the New York Times, usage of plastic bags decreased by 94 percent after the country levied a 33-cent per bag tax on the bags. The tax also made the use of plastic bags "socially unacceptable," on par with wearing fur coats and not picking up after your pets, the article stated.

Kruger, who will leave her council seat next month to spend more time with her children, also is working on a number of other environmentally friendly ordinances.

In addition to a proposal that would restrict HOAs from banning clotheslines in backyards, other ideas include a measure that would encourage local companies to send all their bills electronically by 2015; a proposal that would require all houses in town to be built using green standards; and a proposal that would require all town council members to be supplied with laptop computers in order to cut down on the use of paper.

In other council news:

The new $6.7 million parking garage in downtown Castle Rock, which opened last December, apparently isn't getting much use.

According to town councilman Ed Rusch, an average of about nine people use the parking garage each day since its opening. At the same time, more than 120 parking citations have been issued by the new parking enforcement officer.

The town controls 79 spaces on the garage's first floor, which are free and for public use. The garage is located at the intersection of Third and Jerry streets.

Police Chief Tony Lane gave a briefing on 2007 crime statistics. While the overall number of service calls increased from 2006, there was not an increase in overall crime, he said.

In all, there were 146 burglaries, 301 DUIs, 42 sexual assaults and zero homicides in all of 2007.

"The bottom line is this community is still a very safe community," Lane told councilmembers.

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