Minutes 04-15-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Board would be in a position to make a decision tonight, but this is not going to happen. She said her optimism is that the Board might be able to come up with some steps for moving forward at the May 13th work session. Commissioner Price said she received a lot of emails from people wanting the tax, but most of these people lived close to urban areas. She agreed with Commissioner McKee that there were a lot of emails and written notes from those in the district who were opposed to the tax. She said the rural residents already have to take trash to the convenience centers, and many rural residents also own vacant property that would be a tax burden. Chair Jacobs asked Information Technology staff to pull out every email that related to solid waste tax district and post it on the County website. He said there were very cogent and impassioned emails from both sides, and the public should be able to see this. Chair Jacobs said the Board needs to pull back into the same orbit with all of the partners involved before making any further decisions. He said there needs to be a plan for some sort of work group or entity. Commissioner Rich suggested the addition of some parameters to avoid the upcoming work session being an open ended event. Commissioner Pelissier said the Board needs to clearly articulate the Board's desire to continue rural recycling. She suggested giving staff direction to add on the additional homes for recycling, and she would like clarification that this could be done for the same cost of the current services. She said there needs to be a plan for what will be done next fiscal year Chair Jacobs suggested the addition of an item to the May 8th agenda to allow the Board an opportunity to identify issues for further discussion. He said it would be good to have a guided conversation to look at the FAQ and talk about the bigger picture for recycling and solid waste in relation to their partners. Michael Talbert said staff can do that, but there are only 5 days between May 8th and 13th, so there will be very little time to react. He said any guidance that can be given tonight would be helpful if there is information needed. Commissioner McKee referred to Commissioner Pelissier's earlier comments. He asked if she was speaking of expanding the coverage area per a tax district. Commissioner Pelissier said she is asking who is going to be served in the next fiscal year, and she is suggesting the Board may want to expand the district if it can be done for the same cost. Commissioner McKee said he feels it is premature to discuss this until it is decided if there will be a tax district. Commissioner Pelissier said she is not saying a tax district will be used; she is just questioning who will be served. Chair Jacobs said he has been interested in a cost benefit ratio that includes the percentage of recycling and tells if it is more cost effective to serve denser neighborhoods first. He said this information would help further the conversation. Michael Talbert said staff had talked about serving the existing the 13,700 customers. He said if the system moves to single stream, this would allow for the addition of 1,650 new customers with no new additional costs due to efficiencies. He said this also anticipates the continued service to the current residents and the transition to a roll cart environment. He said neither of these decisions has been made, and they must be made before moving forward. Chair Jacobs suggested the Board spend the next 5 minutes giving feedback to the manager in preparation for a conversation at the work session. He said there are a number of issues, including options for collection and charging and how this relates to the larger waste collection program. Commissioner Dorosin said it would be helpful for the manager to come back with a list of what the Board needs to decide. He suggested the possibility of borrowing $630,000 from