Minutes 02-21-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Commissioner Jacobs asked Frank Clifton if he had any sense from Durham that they would charge different if it was just Orange County versus the towns. Frank Clifton said not at this time. The first priority is to have a destination and the second priority is the cost. Commissioner Jacobs made an amendment to the motion to direct staff to proceed with Durham to accept Orange County's waste but also ask staff to similarly get cost estimates if the current partners were to participate with fhe County. Commissioner McKee accepted the amendment. Commissioner Gordon suggested pursuing this agreement with Durham and having staff come back with parameters. Commissioner Jacobs wants to know if the County bundles trash with the municipalities if it would get a better price. Commissioner Hemminger seconded the motion. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Pelissier suggested sending a letter to the towns letting them know that the County is not negotiating on behalf of the towns. Commissioner Foushee said that she wants to talk about the next steps. She said that it is time for Orange County to have a real discussion about what happens to material solid waste and to engage with the towns and UNC as to where the trash goes. She suggested that UNC should be one of the partners. Commissioner Yuhasz said that it is incumbent upon the County to find the right place to put the trash in the County. He said that it is a problem that is not going away. Commissioner McKee said that there is a mobile home park beside the rural buffer and this is a neighborhood just as much as any of the other neighborhoods that are represented here. He said that the County needs to be responsible for its own trash and they need to look at options with their partners if they wish to bring forth a site on the town's property or UNC. He is not willing to look at this rural buffer site for a transfer station. Commissioner Gordon asked about the letter to the towns and what it would say. It needs to be clear that the County will not be negotiating for the towns. She wants to leave it open for the partners to join at any time. Chair Pelissier said that the letter would say that the County would negotiate on Orange County's behalf and they would want to know what the costs are to the partners and UNC. The letter would ask the partners if they were willing to join in on the negotiations. Commissioner Gordon said that before there could be any consideration of this site, it would be only fair to have another comprehensive and deliberative process because that was the type of process used when the Board was considering other sites. She said that she does have grave concerns about this particular site. Commissioner Hemminger echoed what Commissioner Gordon said. At this point, she does not agree with the process because it has not been public. The process needs to include the partners involved. She does not like the Durham Transfer Station option either, but it had to be done. Commissioner Jacobs thanked Mayor Chilton for making an attempt to be a leader. He thinks that Mayor Chilton has been diligent in trying to work on the solid waste issues. He does disagree with the conclusion, but he appreciates his effort. He reminded the Board that Commissioner Moses Carey, when he was the Chair in 2007, sent a letter to the Mayors of Chapel Hill and Carrboro to solicit interest in participating in a solid waste disposal solution and pointed out that it would be costly to not have a solution. There was never a response. He