Minutes 04-23-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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John Roberts said it can happen in whatever way the county wants to proceed. Commissioner Rich said she would recommend, with option 2, that the county talks with the towns and asks them to be included from the onset. Commissioner McKee said he agrees with Commissioner Rich regarding bringing in the towns sooner, rather than later. He said that he has no problem with reducing the options again, and he feels that option 3 is not palatable to many of the citizens and he suggested eliminating it. He suggested that if a tax service district is chosen and the desire is to make it equitable, it should not be a countywide district, because curbside is not available countywide now. He said there are also issues in the rural parts of the county with long driveways and many residents are very content with use of the convenience centers. He asked if the tax district would be expanded to encompass an expansion of the rural curbside service. John Roberts answered yes. Commissioner Rich said she would like to explore the carts more. She said these were a driving force with the towns and she would like to see what the options are, and how this would work with the tax district. Commissioner Price referred to the idea of a work group and suggested that there be representatives from both county and town, as well as staff, residents and haulers. She said this would include all stake holders and would prevent decisions being made in isolation. Commissioner Pelissier suggested that the process start by finding out if the towns are really interested in participating, and in what capacity. She agreed with Commissioner McKee about eliminating option 3, since it is evident that the citizens want to keep a recycling program. She said what bothers her about the opt-out option is the fact that the county already provides services that not everyone participates in but we want and pay for. She gave examples of schools, parks, etc. She said that the one service that everyone has to use is waste disposal and recycling. She said this needs to be looked at as a big picture of the overall service to the county. She said there are people who don't use the convenience centers but pay for them through taxes. She said that the fees are not that much more than those already being paid. Commissioner Dorosin said he appreciated what Commissioner Pelissier said. He feels there are pros and cons for both the authority and the tax. He personally does not want to create a quasi-judicial authority. He feels the government should be responsible for this. He feels the fees are regressive and fall harder on those less able to pay. He said that the pro side would be if only users have to pay the fee. He said that the pros of the District tax side are that it is controlled by county, and it has a progressive tax. The con is that this tax would be on all properties, regardless of use. He feels that reaching out to other partners is critical with regard to broad based participation. He said the county should go back to towns for feedback, as well as doing more research on how an authority would work and what the costs would be. He questioned, for a countywide tax district, what the tax would be in order to cover the fee that is being lost, and he would like to see a comparative analysis. Commissioner Gordon said the Board needs to reach out to the government partners. She also feels that it is time to eliminate option 3 and do further research on the authority and tax district, especially with regard to costs. She said she is leaning toward the tax district. Chair Jacobs said letters have already been received from 2 of the 3 mayors and they support the current recycling system. He said the Board has been told that Chapel Hill is supportive. He noted that when the County met with the town council, it was requested that, the town communicate with the County before making any decisions on solid waste. He said it is time for the county to do the same. He said he cannibalized Mr. Sassaman's draft resolution and he read the following proposed resolution: