(a) Neither any franchise agreement nor any right or privilege granted in any such agreement shall voluntarily or involuntarily be transferred, sold, hypothecated, sublet, assigned or leased, in whole or in part, nor shall title thereto, either legal or equitable, or any right, interest, or property therein (all collectively referred to herein as "transfer"), pass to or vest in any person, except the grantee, either by act of the grantee or by operation of law, without the prior written consent of the Board. Any attempt by grantee, either by act of grantee or by operation of law, to transfer any franchise agreement without the prior written consent of the Board shall be void.
(b) If the grantee requests that the County consider and consent to a transfer or a change in ownership of grantee, the grantee or the proposed transferee, as applicable, shall at a minimum meet each of the following requirements:
(1) The grantee shall pay the County its reasonable expenses for attorney's fees and investigation costs necessary to determine the suitability of any proposed transferee or proposed new owners, and to review and finalize any documentation required as a condition for approving any such transfer or change in ownership.
(2) The grantee shall furnish the County with independently audited financial statements of the proposed transferee's operations for the immediately preceding three operating years.
(3) The grantee shall furnish the County with satisfactory proof:
(A) That the proposed transferee or the proposed management of the grantee under the proposed new owner has at least three years of solid waste management experience of a scale equal to or exceeding the scale of operations conducted by grantee under its franchise agreement;
(B) That in the last five years, the proposed transferee or any company managed by the proposed new owner (or by the proposed management of the grantee under the proposed new owner) has not received any citations, notice of violations or other censure from any Federal, State or local agency having jurisdiction over its waste management operations due to any failure to comply with Federal, State or local waste management laws, where such failure either: (i) evidences a pattern of disregard for such Federal, State or local waste management laws; or (ii) involves actions which endangered the lives or property of any person. Grantee shall supply the County with a complete list of such citations, notices of violations and censures, if any;
(C) That the proposed transferee or any company managed by the proposed new owner (or by the proposed management of the grantee under the proposed new owner) has at all times conducted its operations in an environmentally safe and conscientious fashion;
(D) That the proposed transferee or any company managed by the proposed new owner (or by the proposed management of the grantee under the proposed new owner) conducts its solid waste management operations in accordance with sound waste management standards and practices and in full compliance with all Federal, State and local laws regulating the collection and disposal of waste;
(E) Of the adequate financial strength of proposed transferee or of the grantee under the proposed new ownership; and
(F) Of the ability of the proposed transferee or of the grantee under the proposed new ownership to obtain and maintain required insurance and bonds.
(c) The County may impose reasonable new conditions of approval on a franchise agreement transfer, or consent to a change in ownership of grantee, including, but not limited to, conditions requiring acceptance of amendments to the relevant franchise agreement.
(Ord. 4385, passed - -2020; Am. Ord. 4434, passed - -2022)