Orange County NC Website
14 <br /> 1 Joe Clayton said prior to coming under Orange County's control, these programs were <br /> 2 run poorly. He is now a solid waste economist and he said everyone needs to be included in <br /> 3 the program and everyone should benefit. He said the County should be completely honest and <br /> 4 open. <br /> 5 Jessica Bolllinger said she has an Efland Trash service and she started this business. <br /> 6 Her business is specifically set up to handle long, narrow driveways that trucks cannot handle. <br /> 7 She said she believes her business will suffer if Orange County franchises solid waste. <br /> 8 Jan Sassaman was speaking as a resident of Chapel Hill and not as a member of the <br /> 9 Solid Waste Advisory Board. He said he appreciated that this is a process but he feels a sense <br /> 10 of urgency with this process. He said the recycling program of Orange County is doing fine. <br /> 11 He said a subscription based program would create a disincentive to recycle. He asked staff to <br /> 12 identify the specific issues they are trying to resolve. He said this proposal is counter to the <br /> 13 long-range solid waste plan adopted by the County Commissioners. <br /> 14 Tom Linden said he has not heard any compelling reasons to go to a franchise system <br /> 15 and he is afraid they will be going with an "opt in" system which may reduce recycling in Orange <br /> 16 County. <br /> 17 Jim Ward from Chapel Hill Town Council said in his opinion this recommendation <br /> 18 represents a precipitous decision that begins to sabotage the County's program. He said the <br /> 19 information he has seen has come out of the Manager's office. He does not understand why <br /> 20 the County would want to dismantle the recycling program. He fears that the premiere recycling <br /> 21 program would cease to exist. He would like the Board to discuss the other options in a public <br /> 22 forum. <br /> 23 Commissioner Rich said she would like to digest the public's comments before the <br /> 24 Board moves forward. <br /> 25 Chair Jacobs said the next step was to schedule a public hearing on April 23 d at the <br /> 26 Southern Human Services Center and whether to pursue a franchise agreement process. <br /> 27 Commissioner Rich said she is hearing that maybe there may be more discussion that <br /> 28 needs to take place before considering a franchise. <br /> 29 Commissioner Price said the public has asked for pros and cons and how to do this and <br /> 30 that there should be a public hearing. She asked if this was possible in advance of the public <br /> 31 hearing. She said she felt uneasy with moving forward with just one option. The Board needs <br /> 32 to explore other alternatives. <br /> 33 Chair Jacobs asked Frank Clifton if it is reasonable to have a more detailed discussion <br /> 34 at one of the future meetings. <br /> 35 Frank Clifton said the process is laid out like it is because it is a laborious process that <br /> 36 must be followed. <br /> 37 Commissioner Price said with the timeline it assumes that the Board wants this option <br /> 38 alone. <br /> 39 Frank Clifton said the staff has not made any decisions yet. The Board still can decide <br /> 40 on any of the options. At any point there can be more meetings and more public input. <br /> 41 Chair Jacobs said there is time before April 23 d to have a full discussion on the pros <br /> 42 and cons and that could precede the public hearing. <br /> 43 Commissioner McKee agreed with Chair Jacobs and said that would be a path to follow <br /> 44 - to hold the April 23 d public hearing but have this item on another regular meeting or work <br /> 45 session to discuss this further. <br /> 46 Commissioner Gordon asked when the other meeting would be held. She said the <br /> 47 public hearing does set the Board on this path. <br /> 48 Frank Clifton said there is a timeframe by state statute to send out notices to existing <br /> 49 vendors and this would need to go out by March 15th. This is the deadline for everyone to be <br /> 50 notified. <br />