HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-05-2017-12-6 - Request for Proposals for an Emergency Storm Debris Site INFORMATION ITEM
Orange County Solid Waste Management
P.O. Box 17177 Chapel Hill,NC 27516-7177 (919)968-2788 FAX(919)932-2900 www.orangecountync.gov/recycling
Landfill Scalehouse 919-918-7075 Orange Community Recycling 919-968-2788 � "
MEMORANDUM
To: Board of County Commissioners
Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager
From: Gordon Dively, PE, Interim Solid Waste Director
Copied: Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager
Date: September 5, 2017
Subject: Request for Proposals for an Emergency Storm Debris Site
Background
Solid Waste staff has been searching for an emergency storm debris site in the northern
portion of the County. The County currently has four(4) approved storm debris
management sites that can be activated in the event of an emergency. Three (3) of these
sites are in the southern portion of the County, and one is in the northern portion. In the
event of a major disaster, such as Hurricane Fran or a major ice storm, the amount of
debris could overwhelm the existing sites. The northern site located on Mincey Road is
relatively small, approximately 5 acres, and was barely able to handle the ice storm event
that the County experienced in March 2013.
Two of the three southern sites are on landfill property, and the fourth one is located
behind the DEAPR office on Millhouse Road. It is the largest site that the County has
available at this time. Staff has conducted an extensive search of publicly/institutionally
owned land north of Highway 70, including the County,NC State and Duke, to no avail.
There are several requirements that staff has identified as key to locating usable sites for
managing storm debris. Some of the requirements are prescribed by the State, and some
are derived by operations. The Department has concluded that the next step in locating
sites suitable for managing storm debris is to seek out privately held land owners who
would be amenable to leasing land to accommodate possible future events.
Request for Proposals (RFP)
Solid Waste staff intends to issue an RFP in the Fall of 2017 through which property
owners can offer up sites to be leased by the County as an emergency storm debris site.
Sites proposed through this process will be inspected by County and State officials to
determine the site's adequacy. Once the lease for the property has been negotiated with
the property owner, the lease would be brought back to the BOCC for final approval.
The lease would be contingent upon the State's pre-approval of the site as an emergency
storm debris site. That way, in the event of an emergency, the site can be activated
without further State inspection. Staff would prefer a long term lease that would alleviate
concerns about expending funds to improve site accessibility. Staff felt that the RFP
Orange County Solid Waste Management
P.O. Box 17177 Chapel Hill,NC 27516-7177 (919)968-2788 FAX(919)932-2900 www.orangecountync.gov/recycling
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Landfill Scalehouse 919-918-7075 Orange Community Recycling 919-968-2788 �
process in the County is well-defined, transparent and inclusive, and that it would be the
most efficient path to connecting with interested property owners. Besides typical RFP
distribution and advertising avenues, staff intends to contact the local ruritan clubs and
the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District to seek assistance in spreading
word of the RFP to potential land owners.
In the event the RFP process does not lead to any viable site options, there are other
methods to find adequate sites, such as; using the County GIS system to identify potential
sites meeting the requirements included in the site selection criteria. Owners of the
parcels identified by the filtering process would be contacted directly to gauge interest in
leasing to the County.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the existing emergency
storm debris sites, site selection efforts or the RFP.