News Photo by Maxwell Olmstead Bailey Barr stands next to the entrance sign of the Alpena Resource Recovery Facility off of M-32 on Tuesday.

ALPENA — One month ago, Bailey Barr was a sales representative for Coca-Cola.

Now, Barr is the first executive director at the Northeast Michigan Materials Management Authority, a regional recycling entity based in Alpena.

He is tasked with helping develop and lead the construction of a new $5.5 million regional materials recovery facility, which will handle and process recyclable material. The new recycling facility will be located on Airport Road in Alpena County.

Barr will also help develop and lead the authority’s recycling efforts in the area.

“Other goals I have are offering curbside recycling and growing our business memberships,” said Barr.

Barr first heard of the job via Rachel Smolinski, recycling authority treasurer and Alpena city manager, through his involvement in the Alpena Parks and Recreation Board about one year ago.

Smolinski thought he’d be a great fit for the job, according to Barr.

Barr is married and his wife works at Wilson Elementary School as a first grade teacher. They share a 3-month-old son named Beckett.

He lives in Alpena Township with his family.

“Outside of work, Bailey enjoys spending time with his family and friends, and is involved as an official with the Alpena Hockey Association,” Smolinski said in a statement. “He is also passionate about running, camping, and playing basketball.”

“Bailey is an Alpena native and is actively involved with the community,” Smolinski added. “Bailey holds an associate degree in business management from Alpena Community College and brings a strong background in sales management, strategic planning, and business administration and planning.”

Barr said the association is in the end process of funding and obtaining grants for equipment. However, he says that donations are desired to help with funding.

Barr says the project is supported through community support, both financially and through money the association makes off of what people recycle.

In his new role, Barr will continue fundraising.

The construction of the new facility will begin early in the spring, according to Barr, and is predicted to take about a year to become operational.

Curbside recycling in Alpena County is also expected to be made available once the new facility is ready to offer the service.

Curbside recycling will cost residents money, however. The recycling authority’s goal is to make it convenient and affordable, according to Barr.

The schedule for curbside pickup is going to be Mondays through Fridays, but is subject to change.

The current facility offers a service to drop off recyclable materials and has several other dropoff locations around the county, such as one located at Northern Lights Arena on Woodward Avenue.

Dropoff at the current facility is free for residents of Alpena County. Non-county residents have to pay a once-per-year charge of $60 to drop off materials at the facility.

“We will take materials from anyone, anywhere,” Barr said.

The facility is open Mondays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m..

“Anybody can come directly to the facility during business hours,” Barr said.

In-county businesses have to pay $360 annually to drop off materials, while out-of-county businesses have to pay $504 annually to do the same.

“We are more than willing to pair with businesses to meet their needs,” Barr said. “We want to reduce the recyclable materials going into landfills and give the community and companies a place to do this.”

Dropoff services and the hours of operation are expected to remain the same at the new facility.

The opening of the new facility will widen employment opportunities, according to Barr.

Currently, there is only one driver for the facility, but the plan is to increase that number to seven or eight drivers, according to Barr.

The recycling authority will host its annual cleanup and electronics day on May 3 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held at Northern Lights Arena, 751 Woodward Ave.

Barr said that, normally, the annual cleanup and electronics day events are separate, but, this year, they are combining the two.

He says that more such events are likely as recycling grows in Alpena County.

Maxwell Olmstead can be reached at 989-358-5687 or molmstead@TheAlpenaNews.com.