Minutes 12-10-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Metadata

Thumbnails

Annotations

b. Rural Curbside Recycling Options The Board considered reviewing funding options for Rural Curbside Recycling in Orange County and providing direction to staff. Michael Talbert said the purpose of tonight is to consider all funding options for rural curbside service. He said Orange County is number one in the state in waste reduction, and the County is working toward the 61 percent goal. He said this will not be an easy or popular decision, and there are people passionate about this issue on both sides. He said all of this is caused by the Lanvelle court decision in Cabarrus County, which states that the County cannot levy a rural curbside fee without statutory authority. He said this fee was levied in the past by a 3R program that went away last year, and the program has been funded by reserves since that time. He said the program still serves 13,700 customers, and he referred to a map of the parcels with potential to be served. Michael Talbert said there are two options before the Board this evening, and the first is solid waste disposal service district, as outlined on page 6 of the abstract. He said the district would have to be outlined, and a statement would have to be compiled outlining how services will be provided to meet the needs, the plan for services, and what tax would be needed to serve the district. He said public hearings would need to be held, and letters would need to be mailed to all 13,700 current participants. Michael Talbert said the second option would be to use the Rural Curbside Subscription service, beginning with the same 13,700 customers and treating the other parcels as new customers. He said the non-profits would continue to be served, though they would not be taxed in a tax district. Michael Talbert said the estimated cost for providing the service under either option would be roughly $630,000 for every other week collection, and it would include new roll carts and new trucks. He said the estimated annual fee would be $58, based on the current 13,700 customers. He said it is expected that 20 percent of those customers would be lost if a subscription service was offered. He said the subscription service recommends that only half of the charge be billed in the first year. He said this would mean billing $29 for potentially 11,000 households, to bring in a little over $300,000. He said the other $300,000 would be funded out of the general fund for the first year. He said the reason for this is because the new trucks and roll carts will not be in service until after October 30tH Michael Talbert said the service would allow existing customers to keep their current bins. He said this is helpful to people with long driveways, who might find the larger bins to be too cumbersome. He noted that the cost is $20 more per year due to the new trucks and roll carts, which will cost $1.3 million. He said the receivable recyclables will increase, and efficiency will be gained with these new carts. He said he lives in rural Orange County, and he currently pays $60 per quarter to have his solid waste picked up in a similar container. He said this means the cost will be a quarter of the cost to do solid waste. Michael Talbert said there is a third option to fund all of this from the general fund, and all of the residents from the three towns would pay their fair share of rural curbside. He does not think this is fair or equitable. Michael Talbert said the recommendation is to move forward with the plan of rural curbside subscription service. He said, if approved, staff would provide letters to current customers outlining the service and the first year billing amount of$29. He said the letter would also offer the option for residents to keep their existing carts and would provide 30-45 days for customers to opt out of the service. He said this would give staff a good idea of their