Minutes 05-17-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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said yes. Another parallel issue is the landfill cap. The design was approved in 1995 and the consultant has said that there is an improved design that would save the County substantial funds. The State would have to approve this. Commissioner Foushee said that initially she is encouraged by what she sees here, but she is also encouraged by the patience of the Rogers Road community and other groups and that staff brought this back so quickly. She is somewhat put off by the creation of an Oversight Committee. She believes that the Board should determine how to provide water and sewer to this community after almost 40 years. She would like to have seen a more definitive document that talked about the timing issue. She thinks that the Board of County Commissioners has the ability, through a work session, to decide on the priorities, the timing, and the funds. She said that she is not interested in trying to determine how to get the partners involved if that is going to be a point that stops the County from moving forward. She does believe that if the Board does what it believes is right to do, that others will do the same. She said that there are many recommendations from the Rogers Road group, but this one is different from what they have had before. She does not want to go back, but she would like to look at the priorities that are being proposed now. Frank Clifton said that, regarding the issue of involvement with their partners, his only issue of involving the towns is that the towns have an obligation to be involved. Commissioner Foushee said that she believes that the Board of County Commissioners can be the Oversight Committee that can bring this forward and if they need other input later on, and then they can invite it at that time. She said that the Board can determine what they can do. She cannot see that they need to stretch this out two or three more years. Commissioner McKee said that he is already on the record as supporting a small extension of the life of the landfill for a short period of time primarily because he thinks Orange County should look after its own trash. When the landfill closes, the County will have to find some other option. He said that this Board has made a conscious decision to move forward with that, so this Board owns that decision and it owns the responsibility to proceed with that decision whether or not the towns are on board. Until the towns are bringing funding and a plan, he does not see any appointees coming from the towns. He is ready to move forward. Commissioner Hemminger agreed with most of the comments and said that she would like to bring this back to a work session with other entities if need be, but the Board needs to move forward and make the decisions. Commissioner Yuhasz said that there was an extended discussion at the SWAB meeting last week and it was clear that a committee was not needed. He said that part of the difficulty is to have common definitions about who is the Rogers Road Community. He supports the idea of a work session to be coordinated with the community efforts. Frank Clifton said that the policy of the Board of County Commissioners is not to take action at a work session. He suggested that the Board direct staff to establish a 30-day notice to the municipalities regarding the pending increases in tipping fees and narrow a process down for key staff inembers that will work with representatives that are involved regarding the issues. Chair Pelissier said that it is clear that the Board is not interested in forming a task force. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the 40 years and said that he feels much more strongly than others seem to that the towns have an equal moral obligation to the County in remediating these matters. The County took over this responsibility in 2000 and it was a partner in 2000, but this was a landfill that was operated by the Town of Chapel Hill. The community is split by two municipalities that have not provided service. He wants to make a much stronger statement about the moral obligations and that this is a partnership. Secondly, he said that the disposition of the Greene Tract was part of the three-government agreement.