Agenda - 06-02-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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I crumbled, Orange County quickly cut the hours at Convenience Centers and tried to close 2 Bradshaw Quarry Road, which was a small and inexpensive center. She said this center 3 remained open after public response. She said soon after that debate the County announced a 4 program to overhaul and modernize all Convenience Centers. She said this came as a great 5 surprise to rural residents who had fought strongly to keep a small center like Bradshaw Quarry 6 Road open. She said the new $2 million Walnut Grove Center is impressive, but she wonders if 7 a more modest center would have been sufficient. She said the new center planned for 8 Eubanks will cost more. She said at the same time the County's plan to upgrade rural 9 Convenience Centers has been deferred, with Bradshaw Quarry not on the list for 10 improvements. She said there is community concern that after spending millions on Walnut 11 Grove and Eubanks, that the County will close its rural centers under pressure about costs. 12 She said perhaps the concern is unfounded, but actions speak louder than words. She said 13 one way to alleviate community concerns is re- sequence the project and upgrade High Rock, 14 Ferguson, and Bradshaw Quarry first, costing a lot less. She said if the towns decide to 15 challenge the fees, it will not be at the expense of rural services. She said once the flat fee 16 project is fully adopted, the plan for Eubanks can be revisited with the hope of doing a more 17 modest facility. 18 Bonnie Hauser said if there is County -wide curbside pick up then small haulers should 19 be accommodated. She said local haulers use pick -up trucks to retrieve trash and recycling at 20 homes in one trip. She said it is a wonderful option for seniors and these businesses are 21 already serving the rural areas and their services are flexible, cost effective and a better fit for 22 the rural areas. She added the process would work even better if the small haulers were 23 allowed to use the Walnut Grove facility versus hauling waste to Durham. She asked the 24 BOCC to commit to flexible, cost effective services for all residents. 25 Commissioner Price asked if it is possible to extend the hours and services at the 26 convenience centers. 27 Gayle Wilson said yes. He said the idea can be discussed during the budget talks. 28 Commissioner Rich said she served on the SWAG committee. She said she wanted to 29 note that the Eubanks facility is a priority of the Town leaders as well as UNC. She said it is a 30 well used facility. She said the Town is very supportive of the Eubanks Center upgrade. 31 Commissioner Jacobs said the SWAG was also trying to make a recommendation for 32 adoption in a timely manner so as to fit into all of the budget discussions around the County. 33 He said that Carrboro was the most vociferous of having one fee but is expected to vote in 34 favor of it this evening at their meeting; which is a significant accomplishment. He said most of 35 the elected officials on the SWAG saw the importance of having a unified approach and 36 stressing the commitment to county wide recycling. He said symbolically the one fee was 37 preferred by the elected officials. 38 Commissioner Jacobs said the SWAG is meeting tomorrow and will start discussing the 39 interlocal agreement. He said staff had also been asked to provide a list of goals, and one 40 reiteration of goals had been presented to the SWAG, to which the SWAG had responded. He 41 said the group will discuss another reiteration tomorrow. He said by the end of the fiscal year 42 the SWAG should be able to relate where these priorities are going. He said some priorities 43 may not come into play for years, while others can be addressed immediately. 44 Commissioner Jacobs said he appreciated Chair McKee correcting repeated 45 misinformation by residents. He said there has been no discussion at all about closing any 46 Convenience Centers. He said doing a use survey of the different waste facilities has been 47 discussed to see who gets the benefits of the different services. 48 Commissioner Pelissier said in the last few years there have been a lot of conversations 49 about the rural versus urban recycling and she hopes there will now be conversation on how