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Commissioner Gordon was hoping that there would be some coordination and publicizing so <br />that the route would be used more. Jerry Passmore said that they hope there will be a joint effort with <br />TTA and OPT to provide service all day. Commissioner Gordon asked that Jerry Passmore provide <br />within the next month a plan for promoting this service. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to <br />approve and authorize the Chair to sign a discretionary rural public transportation fund application for <br />$29,220, requiring a 10 percent local match. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to the County Commissioners' meetings on cable access and <br />said that maybe informational items could be shown in the event that the meeting does not start right at <br />7:30. A map of the bus routes and schedule could be one of those informational items. <br />h. Minutes <br />The Board considered approval and/or correction of minutes from the following meetings: <br />Dec. 3, 2001 regular meeting; Dec. 11, 2001 regular meeting; Jan. 16, 2002 regular meeting; and, Jan <br />28, 2002 work session. <br />Commissioner Gordon noted that the minutes were up to date! <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to <br />approve the minutes from the following meetings: December 3, 2001 regular meeting; December 11, <br />2001 regular meeting; January 16, 2002 regular meeting; and January 28, 2002 work session. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />9. ITEMS FOR DECISION -REGULAR AGENDA <br />a. Alternatives to Open Burning of Agricultural Land Clearing Debris <br />The Board received a preliminary staff report and considered providing direction to staff on <br />possible options for alternatives to open burning of agricultural land clearing debris. <br />John Link said that the Board did not have to make a decision about this tonight, but it would <br />help if the Board narrowed down the options so that staff would know which one to study further. <br />Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that in preparing this report he checked with many <br />resources -Emergency Management, Manager's office, Tax Assessor, Economic Development, <br />Cooperative Extension, County Attorney, Budgeting, Forestry Service, Environment and Resource <br />Conservation, various equipment manufacturers, and various farmers. The farmers are generally <br />opposed to any type of regulation that would prohibit this type of burning. The staff did not make a <br />recommendation, but assumes that, should the Board wish to proceed with some level of burning <br />prohibition, there are two possible lowest impact and lowest cost alternatives - 1) allow some type of <br />curtain burning that would be regulated that would eliminate open burning; and 2) develop a County <br />land clearing recycling location for the farmers who do not wish to burn in any way, or developers, to <br />deliver their materials for a reasonable price so that the County could convert the materials into <br />marketable materials. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to page six where it allows a specific acreage burn per year. <br />He said that he had asked the County Attorney to clarify a few points before the discussion. <br />County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill said that in reviewing the report and assisting to put the <br />report together, the ideas associated with alternatives to burning are essentially financial. He does not <br />have a view about whether the Board should choose a certain option. If the Board wanted to enact a <br />solid waste ordinance that is tailored to eliminate most if not all agricultural operations from the <br />ordinance by controlling the size of the plot or by otherwise using agricultural criteria to eliminate <br />agricultural uses from it, he has a concern. He said that there are fairness issues in trying to control <br />burning through a solid waste ordinance and to eliminate the same kind of burning activity, depending <br />on who is doing the burning. Furthermore, he thinks that the report suggests strongly that the extent of <br />agricultural burning is very small. He knows that the Board does not want to burden bona fide farming <br />operations with additional costs. It strikes him that the solid waste approach to eliminating open <br />burning might not be the right approach. The open burning that takes place in anon-agricultural <br />context can be regulated through the subdivision regulations and the zoning ordinance. Bona fide <br />