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Michael Talbert said the Towns and County, at staff level, are ready to move forward <br /> with the roll cart program and a long term partnership. He reviewed the information in their <br /> packets. <br /> He said the draft local agreement letter of intent is included and has been revised and <br /> updated. He said the County is interested in a long term relationship and continuing the long <br /> and successful partnership to move forward with recycling and waste reduction. <br /> Michael Talbert said the County is already in the process of doing a Request for <br /> Proposals (RFP) for weekly and every other week collection. He said the County is also <br /> assisting the Towns with applications for roll cart grants. He said the plan is to proceed with an <br /> interim agreement to purchase the roll carts, and move forward as soon as possible. <br /> He said the final step is to authorize the County and Town managers to move forward <br /> in good faith to finalize the new comprehensive interlocal agreement. He noted that the last <br /> agreement expired on June 30, 2013 when the landfill closed. <br /> Michael Talbert said the goal is a long term agreement of 5 years or more, with set fees <br /> and multipliers to allow a known quantity, with the possibility of inflation of fuel charges built in. <br /> He said performance measures would also be included. <br /> He said the purpose of the letter of intent is to avoid losing time when the boards take a <br /> break in mid-December. <br /> Commissioner McKee said the upgrades at the Walnut Grove Convenience Center <br /> have made it much more efficient, and it would be worth a look if anyone has questions about <br /> the upgrades. He said there were initially questions about the wisdom of the money spent on <br /> the Walnut Grove upgrades, but it is much more functional now. <br /> He said he is convinced that recycling and solid waste can be done more efficiently <br /> when done together rather than individually. He would like to see a unified system for the <br /> residents. <br /> Council Member Ward said he would be interested in knowing the details about the <br /> participation of town governments in the decision making. <br /> Michael Talbert said that was an initiative put in by the Towns, so he is not quite sure. <br /> He said the County staff is willing to share in the management. He said there is an RFID chip <br /> in the carts that will provide data about usage, and this information will be shared with the <br /> Towns and the County. He believes this should be a collaborative process between the Towns <br /> and the County. <br /> Roger Stancil said efforts have been made to encourage collaboration. He said this <br /> has been more of a County operated system in the past, and the towns were more of a <br /> customer. He said the Towns, the solid waste staff, and the managers have something to <br /> contribute to how the recycling program operates. He said the formalization of this <br /> collaboration will maximize the benefit of having a joint program. <br /> Council Member Ward said the model used for the Chapel Hill transportation <br /> partnership might work for this process. He said many different organizations make decisions <br /> in a very collegial partnership manner. He said the decisions are made after everyone has <br /> discussed them, and this has been a tremendously successful group. <br /> Mayor Chilton said the Board of Aldermen discussed two of these issues the other <br /> night, and the decision was made to move forward with the roll carts. He questioned whether <br /> or not Chapel Hill is also participating. <br /> Mayor Kleinschmidt said the Town of Chapel Hill is seeking a grant to purchase roll <br /> carts, but the council has not decided about the partnership. <br /> Mayor Chilton asked why roll carts would be purchased if this has not been decided. <br /> Mayor Kleinschmidt said the roll carts would need to be purchased one way or the <br /> other. <br />