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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-30-2000 - 5ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 30, 2000 Action Agenda Item No. 5 SUBJECT: Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Draft 9/14/00 SWAB Meeting Agenda Exhibit C -Interlocal Agreement 8/24/00 Staff Memo INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Management Director, 968-2885 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To review the charge to the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) that the Board of Commissioners formally approved on November 3, 1999, and to provide guidance regarding the topics and priorities the BOCC would like the SWAB to undertake in FY 2000-01. BACKGROUND: The interlocal agreement for solid waste management that was signed by the County and the municipalities in 1999 provided for the creation of a Solid Waste Advisory Board to provide advice on solid waste matters to the Orange County Commissioners. Thus far, the County, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill have appointed their two representatives to the SWAB. Hillsborough has not yet made its appointments. The University of North Carolina, although not yet a signatory to the interlocal agreement, has indicated its interest in participating in the process by designating a representative. Hillsborough has not yet made appointments to the SWAB, but is actively soliciting applicants. The first meeting of the SWAB has been set for September 14. A draft of the proposed agenda for that meeting is included as an attachment. The charge to the SWAB approved by the BOCC last November incorporates the provisions of Exhibit C to the approved Solid Waste. Management Interlocal Agreement. It sets forth details concerning the approved responsibilities, procedures, and terms of appointments of the SWAB. As requested by the Board at the August 15 regular meeting, staff has prepared some recommendations regarding the topics and priorities the Board may wish to consider assigning to the SWAB, as outlined in the attached staff memo. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact on the County associated with the establishment or functioning of the SWAB. All recommendations of the SWAB must be approved and funded by the Board of County Commissioners. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board consider any additional charge or procedures for the SWAB prior to the first meeting, scheduled for September 14, 2000, and provide any comments regarding the draft SWAB September 14 agenda and workplan priorities. 2 3 Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Board DRAFT MEETING AGENDA September 14, 2000 Homestead Community Center, Homestead Road 1. Introductions 2. Review of Interlocal Agreement (which created the SWAB) a) establishment b) responsibilities c) membership/terms d) procedures 3. Additional guidance/direction from Board of County Commissioners 4. Organizational Issues a) appointment of chair and vice-chair b) meeting schedule, i.e. frequency, time of day, etc c) preferred meeting location d) record of meetings, i.e. summaries, minutes, tape recording e) other 5) Future agendas a) Board of County Commissioner priorities b) Orange County solid waste orientation/workshop c) facilities tour d) other Exhibit C - Reaardina the Advisory Board Resyoasibilities.- The Advisory Board's responsibilities shall include the following:. (a) To recommend programs, policies,' expansions and reductions of services, and other matters related to the operation of the System; (b) To suggest amendments to the Solid Waste Management Plan and Policies; - ~~ (c) To provide advice to the County Manager for use in the County Manager's developing the proposed annual budget for the System, to review the budget for the System as proposed by, the County Manager to the County's Governing Board, and ~to provide recommendations to the County's Goverai.ng Board for the approval or amendment of•the proposed budget ; ' ~ . (d) To receive and interpret for the County public input concerning the System and the Solid, Waste Management Plan and Policies; (e) To further such mission and goals .for the System as the County may adopt from time to time; (f) To provide promptly to the County's Governing- Body a recommendation concerning any proposal for a change to rates, fees and charges forwarded to the Advisory Board .pursuant to this Agreement; and (g) Such other matters as any Governing Board or the County Manager may request. Members; Terms. (a) Each Governing Board will appoint two members to the Advisory Board as soon as practicable after the date of the execution and delivery of this Agreement. Each Party will notify all the other Parties of its appointments within ten Business Days after making such appointments. (b) Advisory .Board members will serve staggered three-year terms. To provide for the staggered terms of the members, the initial appointments by the Parties will be for the following terms: Member A Member 8 County 2 years 3 years Carrboro ~ 2 years 3 years Chapel Hill 1 year 3 years Hillsborough 1 year 2 years 5 (c) The first year of the term of each initial member of the Advisory Board shall be deemed to expire on June 30, 2000. .Thereafter, each year of the•term of an Advisory Board member will run from July 1 through the subsequent June 30, 'but each member shall ,continue to .' serve until such member's successor has been duly appointed and qualified for office. (d) Each Party may select and appoint Advisory Board members_ia its discretion, except that no employee of a Party•may be appointed as an Advisory Board member. This Agreement in no way requires that any member be an elected .official of the appointing Party. Aay, elected official of a Rarty .appointed to the Advisory Board will be deemed to be serving on the Advisory Board as a part of the individual's duties of office, and will not be considered to be serving in a separate office. Any elected official of. a Party appointed to the Advisory Board will. cease to be a member of the Advisory Board upon such individuals cessation of service as an elected official of such Party (whether or not such member's. successor will~be been appointed and qualified for office), but such Farty may reappoint such individual to the .Advisory Board. Each member of the Advisory Board (including elected officials} serves at the pleasure of the appointing Party, and may be removed at any time by the appointing Party, with or without cause.. •(e) The Governing Board that appointed the person who vacated the •Advisory Board seat will fill any vacancy on the Advisory Board. In the case of a vacancy .created during the term of a member, the appointment to fill the vacancy will be made fortheremaining portion of the teen in order to preserve the staggered-term pattern. Procedures. The Advisory Board may adopt its -own rules of procedure not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement and • not inconsistent with the, policies and procedures governing the various boards and commissions of the Governing Board of the County as those policies and procedures exist now and. as they may be amended from time to time. by resolution of the Governing Hoard of the .County. The• Advisory Board's proposed rules and procedures shall be presented to the. Governing Board of the County for review andshall not. be effective until approved by the Governing Board of the County, but the Advisory Board's procedures shall include the following provisions:. (a) Each member of the .Advisory Board will have one vote, except that. in the event of the absence of a member, the other member appointed by the~same Party as the absent member will be entitled to cast two votes. Any University member appointed pursuant to Part 7 shall have only one vote, and that vote shall not be cast in the member's absence. 6 ~.. ~ J . (b) A number of affirmative votes equal to a majority of the authorized number of Advisory Board members will be necessary to take ' any action. ~ - - _ (c) The Advisory Board's presiding officer will vote as a member of the Advisory Board, but will have no additional or tie-breaking ' vote. ~(d} Representatives of a Party that has given notice .of its ' withdrawal from this Agreemeat will have no~ vote on 'any matters that will affect the System beyond the effective date of such Party~s' withdrawal, and as to any such matters such .members will not be deemed to be within the authorized number of Advisory Board members-for the purposes of subsection (b) above. Memorandum To: Orange County Board of Commissioners John Link, County Manager From: Gayle Wilson, Solid Waste Director Subject: Suggested Role for Solid Waste Advisory Board Date: August 24, 2000 At the August 15 BOCC meeting, staff was asked to suggest what items the SWAB should focus on as they begin their work. In preparing the suggestions for the workplan, our primary consideration was that the SWAB be assigned tasks that reflect realistic expectations. We also foresee it as likely that currently unexpected issues will arise from time to time that will be referred to the SWAB. Staff has prepared a list of short and mid-term workplan tasks. These suggestions are presented below in bullet format, followed by a more detailed discussion: • Educate on existing solid waste programs/services/policies/financing • Develop and recommend programs, policies, and budgets in order to meet the Board's solid waste reduction and recycling goals (Solid Waste Management Plan Implementation Plan). • Fiscal 2001/02 Budget • Transfer Station Development • Department Assumption of Multi-Family Collections Orientation to Existing Programs/Services Staff believes the SWAB needs a solid foundation of understanding regarding current programs, services, financing, and other issues in order to begin working on future issues or making recommendations regarding existing functions/activities. It is also understood that there are differing levels of understanding of solid waste issues among SWAB members. Staff recommends that this orientation take place. at the second meeting or a point early in its work. Solid Waste Management Plan The work toward developing an implementation plan and schedule for consideration by the BOCC will require immediate attention if there is to be a meaningful effort to reach Orange County's aggressive goals in the immediate future. It is assumed that implementation of the plan would take place over a 5-6 year period, so this task would require substantial and prolonged examination and analysis if the SWAB is expected to address it in a timely and thorough manner. It is unlikely that the BOCC could devote the necessary time and effort to finalization of the plan without significant assistance from the SWAB. Staff believes it is particularly important to make this task a priority if we intend to minimize the amount of waste requiring transferring in late 2006 or early 2007. 4 8 Materials Recovery Facility Staff believes, and the County's Integrated Solid Waste Plan reflects, that a Materials Recovery Facility is essential to any effort to achieve high waste reduction goals. Considerable effort has been expended over the past two years, including the assistance of an experienced consultant and the involvement of county elected officials (through the LOG), toward examining the concept of a MRF. This effort included examination of ownership options, building size, materials to the handled, environmental controls, tonnage capacity, etc. Staff proposes that the SWAB be brought up to date on this work and conclude the analysis .(with the assistance of the MRF consultant) and prepare a recommendation as one of their first assignments. The BOCC may also request that the SWAB recommend a site for a MRF. Note: It is likely that the original consultant's budget would require supplementing given the need to repeat much of the previous work and conduct several additional meetings. Once staff knows BOCC intentions, we can estimate what this additional cost may be. Increased Collection Once the BOCC has received the MRF recommendation from the SWAB, staff suggests that the SWAB be asked to immediately proceed to the next significant aspect of the plan, the creation of recycling programs for the Orange County commercial sector. We believe that this sector which is now underserved and that there are sizable quantities of recyclables that remain to be diverted from disposal. In addition, significant expansions would be necessary in the residential and multi-family sectors.. Developing recommendations regarding levels of service, collection methodologies, types of equipment and containers, etc. are essential to this .aspect of the plan. Organics Management Food and other organics waste management are another topic of interest and would be essential to address if we are to meet our goals. Staff proposes that organics management options be explored once the fundamental materials processing and collection issues are addressed. Options could include composting for which many options exist and are in need of exploring. A key element of the county's solid waste management plan would be completing accurate cost estimates and preparing a financing strategy. (Staff will discuss financing in another agenda item) However, staff would suggest, based on the considerable work to date by the Alternative Finance Committee, that the BOCC deal directly with this issue. While the Alternative Finance Committee did not prepare a final report, staff believes it had very nearly completed its evaluation of financing options and had reached some preliminary conclusions on the most viable alternatives. Staff believes it could more effectively complete this issue working directly with the BOCC, given the previous involvement of 2-3 current BOCC members rather than begin anew with the SWAB. It may, however, be advantageous for the SWAB to review the final staff recommendation. Staff recognizes that it would be essential for the SWAB to work with staff to develop accurate cost estimates to accompany all recommendations regarding the plan. 9 Fiscal 2001-02 Solid Waste Budget According to the responsibilities delineated in the Interlocal Agreement, the SWAB is to provide advice to the Manager and Commissioners in the development of the annual budget and the setting of fees. Given that the SWAB will have limited knowledge of Solid Waste budgeting and financing matters, it is likely that considerable time will be involved in this task. Transfer Station Development A transfer station will be required to manage mixed solid waste (MSW) once the existing MSW landfill reaches capacity. (Siting issues related to this facility will be discussed under Facilities) The facility will need to be ready for operation in late calendar year 2006. Given the approximately three years necessary to design, permit, construct and obtain the necessary transfer equipment, staff recommends that this work begin in calendar year 2003. It is assumed that the SWAB could have a role in the design phase of this work. Development of the transfer station is planned to be funded from reserve funds currently being set aside for this purpose. Department Assumption of Multi-Family Collections Recent analysis of taking this program in-house as opposed to continuing with existing contracted collections showed acost-savings of about $450,000 minimum over a six year period. Beyond the six-year period, the savings are greater due to the up-front costs involved. Staff believes that not only would this change result in cost savings, we also believe it would result in a higher quality of service, more accurate records of collection tonnage, and more operational flexibility within the array of services we now offer. Staff recommends discussing this issue with the SWAB and if they agree, presenting this service change in the Fiscal 2001/02 budget for BOCC consideration. Items Not Included in Recommendations for SWAB Several items were not included in the staff recommendations for the SWAB workplan. They include: • C&D Disposal Facility This issue has been the focus of considerable discussion by elected officials, including the BOCC, over a period of several years. Currently there is one potential site under consideration. Staff believes that the BOCC has considerable information and knowledge of this issue to deal with it directly. • C&D Recycling Given the scope of the other items recommended items in the SWAB workplan, we recommend that the BOCC likewise deal directly with the recommendations from the C&D Recycling Task Force. As part of the suggested SWAB orientation, a copy of the Task Force Report would be provided so that they are familiar with it. 6 10 • Alternative Financing Given the amount of time and direct elected official and manager involvement in this issue, staff feels that the majority of preliminary work and analysis has been completed. Staff believes the Manager is prepared to, when the BOCC is ready to .discuss it, prepare a recommendation on alternative financing. Of course, it would be most useful if the BOCC made some key decisions regarding the Solid Waste Plan, C&D disposal, C&D recycling, the Greene Tract, etc. so the scope of the financing could be developed. We believe it would be helpful to have the SWAB review and comment on these recommendations. • Facilities Numerous decisions regarding space planning/facilities are pending, beginning with whether there will be a new C&D disposal facility in Orange County. Staff believes the SWAB could offer input on preferred locations for the transfer station and MRF. We recommend that staff prepare a recommendation directly for the Manager and the BOCC on how to proceed with the relocation of solid waste administrative facilities. The current building is located on University property, leased to the Town of Chapel Hill. The Town has received notice that the University does not plan to renew the lease.