County gives 30 days for municipalities to resolve MOU before yard-waste equipment transfer to Hampton Township

Cumberland County commissioners on May 5 heard two hours of discussion on a proposed transfer of county-owned yard-waste recycling equipment to Hampton Township and agreed to give involved municipalities about 30 days to resolve questions in a draft memorandum of understanding before the county pursues Department of Environmental Protection approval or transfers the equipment.

Kirk Stoner, Cumberland County staff, told commissioners the county suspended its equipment-sharing program about a year ago because of insurance issues and that municipalities have since worked toward a consortium and a draft MOU with Hampton Township as the lead. "We had made the unfortunate decision to suspend our yard waste equipment sharing program due to our inability to get insurance," Stoner said.

Keith Metz, Hampton Township manager, said Hampton has drafted an MOU that he believes addresses the county’s conditions and DEP requirements and that Hampton has insurance in place through MRM Trust and a facility for storing the equipment. "Hampton believes with the draft of the MOU, we have addressed all of the county commissioner’s points and conditions for the transfer of the equipment as well as DEP’s requirements," Metz said.

Representatives from several municipalities raised concerns about the MOU’s terms. Barbara Arnold, environmental programs manager for Lower Allen Township, said the township supports a joint program in principle but identified several issues, including whether the MOU ensures equipment access for multiple municipalities, an unclear timeline for creation of a steering committee or authority, and that Hampton would control capital funds, billing and scheduling rather than a joint steering committee. Arnold gave a rough estimate that Lower Allen Township anticipates about $63,000 in upfront costs and a minimum of $10,000 in yearly billing under the draft terms.

Silver Spring Township Supervisor Dave Blanker and other township officials said they had not had sufficient time to review Monday’s revised MOU and urged more time to ensure the agreement is fair and equitable. Blanker proposed that, if concerns are not resolved, Silver Spring seek to obtain one of the two horizontal grinders the county owns so municipalities would have an alternative.

County staff confirmed insurance is in place through MRM Trust and said the county is paying roughly $13,000 per year to insure the equipment while it remains county-owned. Stoner said the MOU’s financial terms include a deposit requirement intended to cover near-term repairs: participating municipalities would make a deposit equal to 50% of their last three years’ average expenses for leasing or using the equipment, and the MOU would reallocate capital funds back to participating municipalities for capital repairs.

Commissioners declined to take formal action on the transfer during the meeting. Instead they agreed—by consensus during discussion—to give the municipalities a limited timeline, roughly a month, to resolve outstanding comments. The parties identified June 11 as the preferred date to revisit the matter. County staff said that forming a formal authority would take six to nine months, so the immediate step would be a transfer under DEP rules only if municipalities finalize the MOU.

County staff also described the process if the transfer fails: under DEP rules the county may request offers from other governmental or nonprofit entities and cannot sell the equipment to a private company; the county could request 10% of the equipment’s current value as part of a state-led transfer process.

No vote transferring equipment or final sale was taken; commissioners instructed staff to schedule follow-up and reconvene on the week of June 11 to report progress.