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1 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary April 14, 2014 Orange County Solid Waste Management Administration Building, Chapel Hill _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), Loren Hintz, Donna Lee Jones, Steve Niezgoda, Jeanette O’Connor, Rebecca Ray, Gary Saunders ABSENT: May Becker, Peter Cada, David Neal, Lydia Wegman, David Welch STAFF: Rich Shaw, David Stancil GUESTS: Bill Kaiser, Marc Marcoplos _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm. II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – There were no changes or additions. III. Approval of Minutes – Sassaman asked for comments on the minutes for March 10. Saunders motioned to approve as written; Niezgoda seconded. Approved unanimously. IV. Orange County Recycling Program update – Hintz reported on what he heard and observed at the March 18 public hearings on the County’s proposed solid waste service tax district. He noted that the majority of speakers preferred the status quo rather than the proposed new tax district. Marcoplos remarked on what he observed at the April 1 public hearing in Hillsborough. Hintz said county residents might be willing to accept a one cent increase rather than one and one half cent increase for curbside recycling. Sassaman remarked that neither of the two options being considered was ideal, but the County needs to make a decision on how to pay for curbside recycling after July 1. He reminded CFE members they were welcome to attend the April 15 BOCC meeting and reference the CFE resolution in support of the proposed tax district. V. Proposed Renewable Energy and Efficiency Work Group – Shaw reported on the BOCC’s response to the CFE’s proposal of establishing a work group to discuss renewable energy and efficiency issues and to develop changes to County policies and perhaps also some recommendation for legislative changes. David Neal presented the proposal during an April 8 commissioners’ work session, and he and Shaw responded to questions from BOCC members. Shaw reported that most commissioners expressed enthusiasm for the project and thanked the CFE for bringing this idea forward. The BOCC asked for more specifics on the format and staffing of the meetings. Neal said the full CFE would participate rather than just members of the Air and Energy Resources Committee. Shaw said he had suggested that the CFE devote every second or third meeting toward this program rather than holding separate meetings outside of the monthly CFE meetings. Shaw reported that the BOCC urged the CFE to identify a topic to serve as a “trial run” and report back to the BOCC on the outcome and experience. Commissioner Jacobs suggested the resulting recommendations from the CFE be brought forward as part of DEAPR’s annual budget request.