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in the process, 2) to make sure the search would be public and 3) <br />obtain the services of an experienced technical consultant. Joyce <br />Engineering was ultimately hired for that job. The Committee first <br />established criteria which were used by the consultant to screen the <br />entire County to determine which areas were not suitable for the <br />proposed landfill. After this screening was completed, a set of <br />ranking criteria was established out of which sixteen possible sites <br />were identified. An additional list of criteria were then applied and <br />a process was developed which eliminated all potential sites except <br />for the one chosen. Actions taken in the last several years have <br />extended the life of the current landfill. The process of the site <br />selection for the landfill has brought recycling issues to the <br />forefront of citizens attention. It has been an extraordinary <br />educational tool. The final decision on the site selection has been <br />made and the Landfill Owners Group is deliberating on the selection. <br />It is probable that at the August L.O.G meeting they will begin <br />discussion of the process to be used to move toward a final <br />recommendation. <br />Sonna Lowenthal, Chapel Hill Assistant City Manager, presented a <br />report on the Landfill Reorganization and Finance Working Group. The <br />purpose of this group is to determine who will finance the landfill, <br />how it will be financed and exactly who will own it. Last spring the <br />L.O.G. suggested that a group of representatives from the three owning <br />bodies as well as the Town of Hillsborough consider the issues of <br />ownership and financing in order to make a recommendation to the <br />governing bodies. A report was commissioned from Womble, Carlyle, <br />Sandridge and Rice PLLC. They presented possible options of political <br />structures which could be established for ownership and financing of a <br />landfill. At the last meeting the goals and objectives which were <br />adopted by each governing body were reviewed with the intention of <br />organizing and removing redundancies. These goals and objectives will <br />then guide the new structure. <br />In response to a question, Gayle Wilson indicated that the <br />increase in the projected cost of land for a landfill and construction <br />is approximately 50 - loo each year. He also indicated that the life <br />of the current landfill is approximate 8 or 9 years. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis commented on Alderman Nelson's letter <br />dated June 29, 1995. Nelson indicated that 1/3 of the material going <br />to the landfill is recyclable. That statistic came from the Waste <br />Source which was done by a consultant hired to determine what was <br />being taken to the landfill. He asked if increasing recycling now <br />could significantly increase the life of the current landfill. Gayle <br />Wilson indicated that the ban on cardboard will add approximately 8 <br />months to the life of the facility. However, it is unlikely that <br />anything will be implemented quickly enough to significantly extend <br />the facility's life. <br />Commissioner Willhoit mentioned that Alamance County owns and <br />operates the landfill but they do not collect solid waste or have a <br />green box system. This means that they are in a position to tell the <br />municipalities what they will and will not accept. In Orange County <br />