BASALT — This town’s decision to charge a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic grocery bags might not survive long enough to be implemented in May — but it’s unclear if regulations will get tougher or weaker.
Two members of the Basalt Town Council indicated Tuesday night that they favor rescinding the fee on plastic bags and replacing it with a ban.
Meanwhile, a resident is forging ahead with a petition that would force a town election on the issue.
The council voted 6-1 in September to charge the fee on paper and plastic bags.
Since then, elected officials in Aspen and Carbondale have voted to ban plastic grocery bags and charge a fee for paper grocery bags.
Basalt Councilman Pete McBride asked that the issue be reconsidered to see if the town wants to rewrite its regulations to be consistent with its neighbors.
“I’m in favor of changing this at this point,” council member Anne Freedman said.
She explained that the ban on plastic bags will eliminate the accusation that the government is taking the action to make “huge amounts of money.”
It is not clear if there is enough support on the council to ban plastic grocery bag use.
Councilman Glenn Rappaport said he thought Basalt should have waited to see how the Aspen council voted on the grocery bag issue before it took action.
Now, he said, he wants to see how the “market” reacts to the issue.
“I’m always cautious about government stepping into these issues,” Rapport said.
Roy Chorbajian is collecting signatures for a petition that would force the bag fee to the ballot.
Chorbajian told the council Tuesday night that he has personally collected 375 signatures and that allies have collected more. He needs 231 signatures of Basalt voters for the petition to be valid.
The petition has to be turned in by Jan. 19 to force a question onto the April ballot.
Chorbajian urged the council to get out and talk to constituents about the issue. People don’t see the need for regulations on use of grocery bags, he said.
