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project started with the announcement about the landfill closing and a study was done to look <br /> at how much material could have been saved from the landfill and sent to recycling. She said <br /> that over a period of 20 days, 690 pounds of recyclables ended up in the landfill. She said that <br /> a big part of the success of the project was the Solid Waste Management Team and she <br /> recognized their efforts. She said that there is a lot of education tied into this department, and <br /> she noted plans to execute this in all of the County schools. She said that if only cartons are <br /> recycled in these schools, it will account for 170,000 pounds of material. She said that the <br /> closing of the landfill presents the wrong time to put more burdens on schools and citizens and <br /> she stressed the need for education about recycling and composting. She expressed hope <br /> that the current system would not be changed. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked if there was an issue with the earlier request from Jessica <br /> Bollinger to allow small trash pickup businesses to dispose of waste at convenience centers. <br /> John Roberts said he does not know of any issues with this, and he referred to Gayle <br /> Wilson for input. <br /> Frank Clifton said those are convenience centers, not transfer stations, and there are <br /> some permitting issues. <br /> Gayle Wilson said he would have some concerns and would have to have discussions <br /> with waste management. He does think that this would potentially characterize the <br /> convenience centers as transfer centers and would subject them to permitting and a new <br /> arena of rules and regulations. He said that once these centers begin to receive commercial <br /> waste, it changes things and the state would have to interpret it. He said there would need to <br /> be considerable analysis before he would recommend this arrangement. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he just wanted clarification of this issue. <br /> Commissioner Rich said she would like to take franchise option off the list. She noted <br /> that there has been no positive input on this from anyone involved. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said that he would like to look at the goals. He said that he <br /> feels there are three goals: 1) Continue to maximize recycling; 2) Ensuring the maximum <br /> equity for residents; and 3) Trying to ensure fairness for small businesses and county staff. <br /> He said with that in mind, the tax districts, the authority, or eliminating curbside would <br /> be the options that maximize the three goals. <br /> He asked for clarification that, with the tax districts, anyone in the district would be <br /> assessed a tax and everyone would be provided the service. <br /> Frank Clifton said in the case of a large lot of land, the relationship between the fee <br /> and the service is different now. He noted that everyone who pays the fee does not use the <br /> service, even though it is available, but the cost is linked to the estimates of service provided. <br /> He said that the tax would be applied by valuations within the district that would determine how <br /> much each individual paid, not necessarily the waste stream or usage. He said this has to be <br /> looked at more closely and there would be issues to work out and modifications be made over <br /> the years, based on the cost of the services. He said that the authority has more flexibility <br /> than the tax district in how revenue is raised. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said her first choice is a solid waste authority although other <br /> things may have to be done in the meantime. She addressed the issue of equity, and noted <br /> that there were discussions about the convenience centers and charging access fees that <br /> were more expensive in rural areas than in urban areas. She asked if this might be a <br /> consideration in the current equity discussions with the tax district. <br /> Frank Clifton said that there can be a combination of countywide tax and user fees to <br /> accommodate for the equity issue. <br /> Commissioner Price said that there needs to be a look at the volume of the smaller <br /> haulers and consider that they are providing a convenience service for residents who would <br /> normally come the convenience centers anyway. <br />