Agenda - 05-08-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 1 said recycling reduces solid waste, removes roadside litter, reduces energy use, and eliminates 2 sources of air pollution. He said the cost is relatively low compared to the benefit. 3 Barry Katz said he is a resident of Falls of New Hope. He said the curbside pickup 4 service has been very popular in his neighborhood. He referred to a list of 120 product 5 categories made from recycled material. He said this product list is from a staunchly 6 conservative county with an award winning solid waste and recycling program. He read from 7 the provided list of recycled products. He said recycling does not have to be viewed as a 8 partisan political issue. He said everyone benefits from the re-use of home and business 9 recovery material, and it is impossible to opt-out of the use of such items. He questioned why 10 people should opt out of paying for them. He said regular neighborhood recycling pickup 11 service is the best way to create and sustain this practice. He urged the County to create the 12 solid waste district. 13 Steve Hopper said he is from Efland, and he is opposed to the solid waste tax district. 14 He said the provided document states that the district would be improving this service but that is 15 a false statement. He said the County is only picking and choosing some areas. He said the 16 method of funding is offensive to him because it is a progressive tax. He said the cost to each 17 household should be the same, but it is not. He said it does not cost more to provide recycling 18 for a $200,000 house than a $100,000 house. He said this does not meet the common sense 19 test, and it sounds to him like income re-distribution. He said their local government should not 20 be doing this. He said it costs the County the same amount to pick up his recycling as it costs 21 to pick up his neighbors, but he has never used this service. He said he takes his recycling 22 when he takes his garbage, as this just makes sense. He questioned whether this tax is to be 23 made for the improvements alone or for unimproved land as well. 24 Larry Snipes said the Board is discriminating against the residents of Orange County, as 25 the Board is only charging this tax to part of the County. 26 Bonnie Hauser said she is strongly committed to waste reduction. She said that 27 Catawba County ranks first in the state for recycling, and that program is funded with fees that 28 reward good recycling behavior with discounts and other incentives. She said the towns in 29 Catawba control all of the curbside trash and recycling programs, and the unincorporated areas 30 have a waste and recycling franchise that charges $25 per month for trash collection and 31 discounts this to $19 per month for residents who also recycle. She said RFID chips are placed 32 on recycling bins, and residents who don't use the bins once a month are charged the higher 33 fee. She said the program is outsourced to a vendor who has no difficulty with the uncertainty 34 of allowing residents to opt out. She said Catawba County's solution to the issue of long 35 driveways was to ask permission from the community to use a small truck to pick up trash and 36 recyclables from individual homes. She said this county also offers a pay as you throw system 37 at the convenience centers, and the charge is $1.75 per bag for a 32 gallon bag of trash, while 38 recycling is free. She said there are no other fees charged to residents for these services. She 39 noted that Catawba County's solid waste website includes a link to the franchise agreement, 40 which exposes all services and fees. 41 She said there are countless examples throughout the state where counties provide 42 curbside recycling to unincorporated areas, in some cases at no charge. She said she cannot 43 find any county that forces its citizens to pay for convenience centers and curbside services. 44 She believes the discussion of a service tax district is premature, and it would be more 45 productive to begin planning for a future service with a fair and equitable fee system covering 46 all recycling services. She encouraged the Board to levy a subscription service with an opt-out 47 policy to fund curbside service in the short term. 48 Jeanne Brown said she would like to discuss the following four points: 49 1. We can do better than a one-size-fits-all roll cart solution that meets the needs of only 57 50 percent of area property owners. She said County data shows the affected area has two large