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

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9 1 monopoly that has no constraints on future increases. He said the rates should be all flat or all 2 progressive. 3 2) Recycling Participation — He said Orange County has been a leader in recycling for many 4 years, before and during recycling pickup; and it will continue to be a leader in the future, no 5 matter what plan is elected. He said the County would not have been able to achieve this 6 without aggressive rural resident participation. 7 3) No Choice — He said he took his trash and recycling on the same trip and this is the practice 8 most of the time. He said it makes no sense that he would be forced to pay for something he 9 doesn't need. He said the roll cart would not be suitable for him. 10 11 Mark Marcoplos said he lives in Bingham Township. He said this proposal has been 12 under consideration with the Board of County Commissioners for more than a year now, and it 13 is no closer to a clear resolution. He said the lack of clear information has resulted in testimony 14 and letters being submitted from people who are not even in the proposed district. He said the 15 County has not checked the addresses of citizens who have spoken at their meetings to see if 16 these residents live in the proposed district. He said the end result is that neither the public nor 17 the media really know the extent of support or criticism for this proposal. He said there are 18 people living in dense areas that would like the service and support the modest tax. He said 19 there are also people in the district that live down long driveways and would not use the service. 20 He said these residents generally support recycling and haul it to the centers, along with 21 household trash. He said the state policy has forced the creation of a district that has clusters 22 of density separated by areas of scattered households. He said the connecting zones have a 23 practical reason to not use the service. He said none of this investment of time and money to 24 explore the tax option would have been necessary if the Board of County Commissioners had 25 kept the 3-R fee. He said it is unclear that the attorney's opinion on the possibility of a legal 26 challenge merited the scrapping of the 3-R fee. He would like to re-instate the fee and 27 concentrate efforts on the adoption of a comprehensive plan. He feels it is essential that 28 Orange County have its own transfer and recycling station at the same location. He said this 29 will end the increasing cost of trucking waste to transfer stations; reduce pollution; and allow for 30 future collection of both household waste and recyclables. He said the most cost effective 31 location is near 1-40 and the Chapel Hill/Carrboro urban zone, which generates most of the solid 32 waste. He referred to available land near the Chapel Hill Town Operations Center. 33 34 Stan Cheran lives in rural Orange County and said he would like to join with many of his 35 rural neighbors in expressing opposition to a fee for a service that he does not use and will 36 never use. He lives on an unpaved road and hauls his recyclables and trash to the 37 convenience centers. He said if he chose to put out his recyclables he would still have to haul 38 trash. He finds the proposed mandatory fee objectionable and not appropriate for a County as 39 progressive and enlightened as this. He said it is not a matter of cost, but it is a matter of 40 principle. 41 42 Steve Hopper lives in Efland. He is opposed to the tax, and he has been doing research 43 on the issue. He said most people he has spoken with did not realize that this will be a 44 progressive and variable tax. He said this is a strange way to fund this service. He 45 congratulated the County on doing a good job with recycling so far, but he feels the Board does 46 not see that the rural people get it. He cited a 7 percent difference in the rates of recycling 47 between rural residents with and without the curbside service. He said the economics don't add 48 up. He said the residents of this County are enlightened and are going to continue to recycle. 49 Steve Hopper asked the Board not to do this, and he requested that residents be allowed to 50 vote on the issue.