Agenda - 09-29-1999 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ie~~ FJi~~~ s~f~ ~~~ ' ~_+~~ i i : ~~l ~~ t7ear Orange County Commissioners: Due to time constraints at last week's public hearing, one issue did not get spoken to very coherently, What follows is a summation of the financial risks to Orange County that would come with the selection of the Guess Road site. The financial projections developed for the Guess Road site assume a continuation of use at the same levels as at the present site on Eubanks Road. This is surely an overly optimistic forecast, If we can look at this as a business for a moment, (and this is presently amoney-maker for the county), a C&D landfill is dependent on its customers coming to its place of business. In every business of this type, location is a very important factor in predicting the volume of business that can be expected. Generally speaking, the more time it takes for customers to get to the business, the more likely they are to look for alternatives. And far Chapel Hill area contractors needing C&D disposal, there are alternatives. Durham's transfer station accepts C&D waste, as do C&D landfills in Wake County (on highway 55) and in Alamance County (just ~ miles from Chapel Hill in Saxapahaw). Although these county facilities are technically supposed to accept waste only from their home counties, in practice few or no questions are asked, especially since C&D fees tend to generate a profit for the receiving landfill. Gayle Wilson admitted to the truth of this situation in response to a question at the community information hearing about C&b waste coming to the proposed Guess Road site from northern Durham County. There are also more than a half dozen private, state permitted "Land Clearing and Inert Debris" landfills nearby (2 in Chapel Hill, 6 in Durham, 5 in Raleigh). The list of materials these facilities are allowed to handle is amazingly close to what is allowed to go into C&D landfills. The main differences axe that painted and treated wood are technically not allowed in these "Inert Debris" facilities. Easily 80% of the materials going into a C&D facility are also allowed in "Inert Debris" landfills. {See memo below from the NC. DNER). GIVEN THE AVAILABILITY OF DISPOSAL SITES CLOSER TO CHAPEL HILL THAN THIS GUES" `~ SAD ~IT~ti ~' ~~, ~~ 7i~'~.~' ~ki.~~lti!i.u~~lTY'S C&D B.ti~~~~,~~ ~ ~Alo.l~ ~'~' SI~t' ~ I'I' i~lC~VI~ IT"S LANbFILL S® FAR FROM MOST OF ITS CUSTOMEkS. A.N ACTI;VTTY THAT IS NOW A MONEY MAKER FOR THE COUNTY COULD WELL BECOME A MONEY LOSER, IN NEED OF ANNUAL SUBSl77]ES. This discussion also gives evidence that development activity in Orange County will not come to a screeching halt if for a period of time the county itself does not provide a C&D disposal facility. Alternatives do exist, and they can and will be used. Thank you all again for your time and your consideration. Tout Campbell