Agenda - 06-23-2004-5n - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and Town Council FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager SUB.TECT: Orange County Solid Waste Management Plan Three-year Update DATE: May 10, 2004 Page 1 of 3 O AGENDA #8 The attached resolution would authorize the Mayor to communicate with the Orange County Board of Commissioners to request further discussion of the proposed Orange County Solid Waste Management Plan Tluee-year Update before it is submitted to the State. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION On December 17, 2003, we received from County Manager .Iohn Link a copy of Orange County's draft of the Solid Waste Management Plan Three-year Update. Orange County has requested that the Town of Chapel Hill endorse this plan as required by the State prior to submittal of the tluee-year update, On April 14, .2004, the Town Council reviewed the plan and received public continent. The report includes departures from the previous plan (for example: no materials recovery facility, no expansion of recyclables collected nor expansion within commercial services). At the April 14 Council meeting and at the April 29, 2004 meeting of the Orange County Assembly of Governments, a number of issues were raised: The plan does not consider the possibility of including the construction of a materials recovery facility to handle both corruuingled recycled materials and additional materials generated from existing and expanded programs. . The elimination of a "materials recovery facility" from the plan means that there is no identified way to achieve the Town's waste reduction and recycling goals, including no provision for initiating and expanding commercial recycling programs. The plan also would not support the Council's goal of keeping a "pay-as-you-tluow" residential refuse program as a possible future option. A $75.00 per year materials recovery fee is proposed to be charged to Chapel Hill citizens with no expansion of services. We believe it would be helpful to have further discussion and explanation of costs of urban curbside recycling services in relation to the fee being proposed for such services. In view of the issues outlined above, we believe that it would be appropriate to request further discussion of the proposed solid waste management plan. We recommend that the Council authorize the Mayor to communicate with the Board of County Commissioners, to initiate further discussion. We recommend that the Council appoint representatives to meet with counterparts from the Board for these discussions.. We recognize that the County is working toward submittal of a plan soon, and believe that initial discussions should take place promptly. One approach to moving forward would be to request that the http://towrrhalLtownofchapelhill.org/agendas/ca0405 1 0/8-Proposed%20Orange%20County, . 5/24/2004