Minutes 01-26-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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transfer site or alternative technology. He said that the solid waste technologies are not there yet. He is supportive of Mayor Chilton's proposal and would like to see this explored. He would like for everyone to work together. Alderman Slade said that he agreed with a lot of the comments and many agreed to look at Mayor Chilton's proposal. He said that the pressure is on and they need to thank the Board of County Commissioners for setting a deadline to close the landfill and to help the Rogers Road area. He said that they need to bear the costs of their own solid waste, and he hopes that Chapel Hill's consultant will look at zero waste. Commissioner Foushee said that she is not opposed to looking at the proposed transfer station site of Mayor Chilton, but this discussion would need to be parallel to discussions on the rural buffer. She said that she understands that everyone is frustrated, but none of them is as frustrated as the people who live in the Rogers Road community. She reminded everyone that the citizens of Rogers Road are also taxpayers and the elected officials need to be responsible to them as well. She is amenable to having discussions about a remediation program for these residents. She is quite frustrated that they continue to meet to talk about delaying the decision to help people who have borne this burden for 40 years. She will not be for delaying this any further. She will not change her position on this. She said that governing bodies have continued to change their position or delay their decisions until nothing for 40 years has been done. Commissioner McKee said that he read Mayor Chilton's comments and agrees with almost all of them. He wants tlie'County to be responsible for its own trash and find another site. He said that he sat in a meeting a few years ago and watched as every site that was brought up as a possibility was'shot down. He said that the County is out of time. He is not willing to go through a process only to be beaten back again, knowing that they are out of time. Town Commissioner Gering said that he is in favor of both suggestions that both Mayor Kleinschmidt and Mayor Chilton'are proposing. Council Member Czajkowski said that Commissioner Foushee has spoken on this matter many times and she never uses inflammatory terms. He said that he does not see how all of them that claim they are intent on social justice can let this matter go on. The landfill needs to be closed. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he is willing to close the landfill at any time. He said that this is the only place to take the trash until they come up with something else. He said that it comes down to finding someplace close or sending it away. Any site outside of the rural buffer will require a substantial additional expenditure and carry a substantial environmental cost. Mayor Chilton said that, based on what he is hearing from the Board of County Commissioners and his Board members is that many want to close the landfill in 2013. He said that he can live with this decision if, in the meantime, they have selected a site for the long term for their solid waste, even if that means they have to ship their trash to Durham in the interim. His proposal is to leave the landfill open for a little bit longer while the transfer station is being built and spending some of the money that would be saved by not shipping trash to Durham and build a transfer station. He said that it is worth recollecting what happened in 1972, which is that Chapel Hill and Carrboro had been landfilling trash on the Horace Williams tract for many years, and UNC kicked them out and in June of 1972 set a firm deadline of September 1, 1972, at which time that Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County would not be allowed to landfill on this property. Immediately after that, Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen (as it was then called) passed a resolution calling the Board of County Commissioners to exercise a purchase option of a potential landfill site on NC 54 in Bingham Township. He read sections of the minutes from 1972. He said that he believes that at some point in the future some type of large-scale composting facilities or some other emerging technologies will happen in the