Minutes 04-23-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

option, because it could not be used. She said she hopes the Board will consider this in its decision. She said that curbside works well in some areas, but it does not work in others. She said that any authority should not have the authority to put landfills wherever they desire. She also said that any tax district should be created to be fair to rural people. Don O'Leary lives in rural Orange County, Bingham Township. He has to make trips to the dump and he brings his recycling when he goes. He said he would like to see options with regard to curbside service. . Gerald Turner said every time the county recycles, it means less being hauled to Durham County. Resident of Durham, (name not audible- not signed up to speak) who grew up in Orange County and was spoiled by the recycling program. She said she would like to reiterate the rejection of any option to eliminate curbside recycling and she feels this is an option to improve the program. Emily Burrough lives in Hillsborough and is concerned that if curbside becomes optional many will opt out of recycling. She suggested, if the Board does make curbside recycling optional, then recyclable items could be banned from the waste stream. She said this could just be an extension of the corrugated cardboard ban. End of Public Comment Chair Jacobs noted that several questions were raised during the public comment. He said the county legislative delegation did try to get authority but it died in committee. John Roberts, referring to a question regarding Chapel Hill residents in Durham County, said, without an inter-local agreement with Chapel Hill, Orange County has no legal authority to provide a service and charge a fee outside of its jurisdiction. He said it would be up to the town of Chapel Hill to ask Orange County to serve this area and to authorize the county to do so. Frank Clifton said the county would not have the authority to levy a fee, so the agreement with Chapel Hill would have to include a methodology of the town applying a tax and paying the County. Chair Jacobs said two people asked about getting with staff to talk about small haulers using the convenience centers as an alternative to disposing in Durham. He asked the manager and Gayle Wilson to meet with small haulers and report back to Board of County Commissioners on pros and cons of this arrangement. Commissioner McKee asked for clarification as to what happens to everything except the $37 base fee from this point moving forward. He said his understanding that these fees will go away and the tax will replace them. Frank Clifton said fees for facilities and county wide services are appropriate; fees for services at curbside and multi-family locations are not within the county jurisdiction. He said the County could create a system of opting in or out for some services, but this would require creation of a billing system. He said there is an issue with the fact that if there is a neighborhood of 15 houses and only 4 opt in, the cost of the service will remain the same. He said that in rural neighborhoods, often one neighbor will pay the cost and everyone shares cost and shares the cans. He said these are examples of a number of issues that exist. John Roberts said the Supreme Court decision suggested that Orange County does not have the authority and he read it as a need for the county to look at other options. Commissioner Dorosin clarified that the County currently collects multi-family and government facility waste inside the towns. He asked if whatever option is chosen, going forward, would require those facilities to be part of this.