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with a rural area because of long driveways and rural roads. She said that they believe that <br /> there are better ways to spend taxpayer money. Based on all of the information, Orange <br /> County Voice asks that the County Commissioners vote to keep Bradshaw Quarry open two <br /> days a week, and that the Board instruct the work group to discontinue further pursuit of <br /> garbage franchises and expansion of rural recycling at this time. If the County chooses to <br /> continue to expand rural recycling, they ask that it be put forth on a voluntary basis. <br /> Norma White lives in northeastern Orange County and she was speaking as a member <br /> of Orange County Voice, because she thinks that they have a voice of the rural population, <br /> which has not had a solid backing in the past. She said that the survey done was remarkable <br /> because it is difficult to get rural people together to make a statement. She said that the <br /> survey confirmed that the residents were highly satisfied with the convenience centers. She <br /> asked the County Commissioners to reject "pay-as-you-throw" and keep the convenience <br /> centers. She asked that nothing be done until there is a complete profile of all of the costs and <br /> tax implications. She said that some rural residents have said that the Board never listens to <br /> them and only wants to raise their taxes. <br /> Bonnie Hauser from Orange County Voice said that she hopes the County <br /> Commissioners have found their input helpful and that they will keep the Bradshaw Quarry <br /> convenience center open and begin the focus on cost-effective services for the future. She <br /> said that another way to cut costs would be to limit the disposal of certain bulky items to only <br /> quarterly, for example. Cutting the days of operation could also help, but other ideas include <br /> directing all trash from Ferguson and Bradshaw Quarry to the Alamance landfill, which is closer <br /> than Eubanks and a lot closer than Durham. She said that if the County does not spend <br /> money on the transfer station, then this money could be used for compactors at the <br /> convenience centers. She said that now is the time to work on reducing waste rather than <br /> fees. She said that Orange County Voice does appreciate the work of the Solid Waste <br /> department and the convenience centers and they do not want their comments to be <br /> misconstrued otherwise. <br /> Frank Tozzolina said that he lives in Bingham Township and is a member of Orange <br /> County Voice. He feels that the rural residents have taxation without representation because <br /> the services are not distributed in a fair and equitable way. He said that a $40,000 savings in <br /> such a large budget is a real drop in the bucket and the rural community should not be <br /> deprived of such an essential service. He said that it would put an extra burden on the rural <br /> residents to close this convenience center. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz said that the Solid Waste Work Group met today and they <br /> supported the continuing use of convenience centers as an important part of the solid waste <br /> handling in Orange County. He said that the convenience centers are costing the County more <br /> than it can afford, so they need to look at continuing the convenience centers while being able <br /> to afford it. He would like to keep Bradshaw Quarry open until there is an overall, long-term <br /> plan for the convenience centers. He said that he is in favor of closing on holidays and maybe <br /> closing Bradshaw Quarry for two of the four days that it is open now. He is not in favor of <br /> doing away with any of the other services at Bradshaw Quarry. He suggested looking at <br /> closing the High Rock site on Mondays. He asked for an estimate on what that would save or <br /> cost. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz made this as a motion. Commissioner Jacobs seconded the <br /> motion. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that he agrees with Commissioner Yuhasz in concept. <br /> There was a discussion about coming back in January or February with a proactive schedule to <br /> address these issues, with a system of neighborhood and district convenience centers that <br /> would cover the County, that would be more aggressive in promoting recycling of more <br />