(Plan for proposed ECRRT courtesy County records)
Another item on the County's agenda is the acceptance and appropriation of BearWise funding from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for the purchase of 600 bear-resistant trash cans. Volusia County was awarded $75,000 from the FWC for fiscal year 2018 to cover the cost of the bear-resistant trash cans in order to assist in the reduction of conflicts between humans and bears on the County's west side. For more on this story, click here. The Council must vote in order to approve the purchase of the bear-resistant trash cans at $215 each, using the FWC money to cover some of the cost. The rest of the money will come from waste collection reserves and money from the sale of 300 bear-resistant trash cans purchased through BearWise funding during fiscal year 2017. The previous bear-resistant trash cans were sold at 25% customer cost share to residents of Volusia County who applied for them. The County sent out applications to 17,000 residents in the target area from DeLeon Springs south to Orange City. Over 1,296 applications were received, and the 300 containers sold out in seven days. If the Council accepts the 2018 BearWise funding on Thursday, the funding will also be used to fill as many of the remaining orders as possible for those on the waitlist for the containers. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.