Minutes 04-15-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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aspects of recycling, not only curbside recycling. She said she is disappointed at where the Board is right now. Commissioner McKee said the Board held two public hearings with the intent of creating a solid waste service district, and the response was loud and clear on both sides. He said neither of the two options —the tax district or the subscription service -will pass tonight. He said he still thinks the subscription service is a viable option, and he will continue to advocate for it. Commissioner McKee called for this discussion to be put into a work group similar to the Emergency Services work group. He said this work group should include representatives from the towns, solid waste and the community, and these representatives should spend the next year discussing this issue. He said this should be put into a separate entity and looked at in a holistic manner in order to bring back a solution. He said the County is now in a place of paying to haul its trash into another community. He said all suggestions need to be considered, and the issue needs to not be continually kicked down the road. He said this process happened with the siting of a transfer station. He said the Board needs to come to a point and accept the political consequences and make a decision. Chair Jacobs disagreed that this is like the transfer station issue, with the exception of listening to the public. He said the Board decided respectfully not to accept what was suggested by staff, but he does not feel that this is kicking the can down the road. He said The Board started the process discussing options for rural recycling at a time when the County was going it alone with all aspects of solid waste. He said on the 13th the Board will be discussing an inter-local agreement which brings them back into discussion with their partners. He said staff has been trying to meet with vendors and advocates to get fresh ideas on various aspects of waste reduction. He said the frequently asked questions list is up to 70 questions, and the Board has not even discussed these. He said the Board has not decided that the only option is to fund with the general fund. He said he feels more confident that the Board can come up with a good plan through working with its partners. He said this is a proactive way to look at the issue; marshal resources; create partnerships; ask the right questions; and articulate goals before moving forward. Commissioner Dorosin said one thing that came out of the hearings that was disheartening to him was the opposition to using property tax instead of a fee. He said property tax is a progressive tax, and it is the fairest way to distribute those costs. He said flat fees hurt lower wealth residents. He said, when thinking about social justice and equity, property tax is the best way of addressing the fairness in taxation. Commissioner Pelissier said everyone has trash and recyclables. She said one of the problems is that residents look at solid waste as an individual service, while the County looks at it as a program for solid waste reduction and reducing the carbon footprint. She said it is easy to get caught up in the perception of this as an individual service and it is a hard thing to communicate the difference. She said that it was clear that the public is overwhelmingly against the solid waste district tax. She said many who opposed the service district spoke out in the public hearings, but what the public and media did not see were the many emails that the Board received in support of this tax district. She said she would like to have a way to put this information on the internet to allow people to see this support. She feels there were many more emails in favor of this, than against it. Commissioner Rich thanked Commissioner Pelissier for pointing this out and said she feels it is important for all of the voices to be heard. She said most of the emails she received were in favor of the tax. She said these emails should be public. Commissioner McKee said most of the emails he received were against the tax. Commissioner Gordon said she is going to remain optimistic. She had hoped the