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Charlotte board says 'NO' to private landfill
Wednesday, February 9, 2005 9:11 AM EST
Just say NO!
And that's exactly what the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors did Tuesday afternoon when they rejected any plans to develop a controversial privately owned landfill.
The board also appointed a citizens environmental committee to study the county's long-term waste disposal needs in the future.
Before a standing room only crowd of over 150 concerned citizens, Haywood Hamlet, Chairman of the Solid Waste and Request for Proposals (RFP) committees, presented the resolution to the board which also asked Charlotte County's Planning Commission to discontinue its consideration of amending the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan to allow for a sanitary landfill.
The unanimously adopted resolution, which terminates the procurement process, received a loud round of applause from those in attendance.
It was the latter part of 2004 when Allied Waste Industries bought 1,600 acres at a site in Charlotte County with smaller adjoining tracts in Mecklenburg and Lunenburg Counties in anticipation of establishing a 250 acre landfill that would be located in Charlotte County.
As part of their proposal, the company said the landfill would generate millions in revenues for Charlotte County over a 20-year period and take in the county's garbage at no fee.
In addition, trash and refuse from south central Virginia and possibly North Carolina and Maryland would be included in the deal, according to the proposal.
Quickly opponents to the landfill banded together voicing opposition and citing concerns of water and air pollution as well as transportation and road concerns and the possibility of becoming a dumping ground for out-of-state trash.
For the past several weeks, opponents have bombarded area newspapers with letters of concern and encouraged the powers-that-be to reject the company's proposal.
The time-consuming and thought provoking issue has subjected the Charlotte County Board and administrative staff to "a lot of stress," Chairman Gary Walker said Tuesday afternoon.
According to the resolution adopted by the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors, the board has, for some time, been concerned with identifying a solution to the long-term solid waste disposal needs of the county.
"The board values the views of county citizens, and the legal procedures the board has followed have allowed full and fair opportunity for public comments," Hamlet said when presenting the resolution to the board.
"Having benefited by the citizen participation process, and having thoroughly analyzed the company's proposal, the board is of the opinion that the company's proposal is not in the best interest of the county and citizens," he summarized.
However, he added, "the board remains of the opinion that the county needs a plan to address the long term solid waste needs of the county and desires that this important public policy issue be more fully studied."
Toward that end, the board appointed a citizen environmental committee composed of Read Charlton, County Seat District, Harvey Elam, Bacon-Saxe District, Sami Dail Gilley, Cullen-Red House District, Phillip Walker, Drakes Branch District, P. K. Pettus, Keysville District, Clarke Poindexter, Phenix/Aspen District, and Charlie Vaughan, Wylliesburg/Red Oak District to continue studying the county's solid waste disposal needs and the county's options to address those needs.
Following the adoption of the resolution, Chairman Walker thanked the many citizens "who took time to ask questions and raise concerns. This is the purpose of public hearings and we thank you for taking the time to express your views in a helpful manner."
He went on to thank the administrative staff who absorb the brunt of a controversial issue.
"When people are upset or angry, they often take it out on the people in this building, and these employees have been subjected to a lot of stress during the past two months," he added.
He also expressed appreciation to the board.
"They have taken seriously their responsibility to represent the citizens of the entire county and to work in the best interests of the electorate.
"Under the stress of this issue, their patience has been sorely tried, but they have maintained their thoughtful consideration of the people.
"The board realizes that whenever people feel frustrated and frightened by what they read and hear, some of those people will react in ways they may regret later," Walker said.
He further explained that "this board has not been given the time to fully deliberate the landfill issue," which he described as "a work in progress."
"A great deal of time was spent responding to incomplete or misstated information. An even larger amount of time was spent checking out issues of state and federal law, environmental and engineering questions, economic issues, and the nuisance factors in an effort to ensure clean water, odor-free air, regulated land use and highway safety."
He reminded those in attendance that WestPoint Stevens, the county's largest employer, will be closing soon.
"The loss of $10 to $12 million in annual payroll from 450 jobs and the loss of an estimated $400,000 in county revenue from various fees and taxes paid by the company, create a substantial shortfall in Charlotte County's General Fund.
"Budget time is approaching and the supervisors must turn their attention to planning for 2005-06," he continued.
Chairman Walker indicated the board would continue to budget in excess of $550,000 annually for waste collection and recycling and for fees to dispose of Charlotte County's waste outside the boundaries of the county.
Following the board's actions, several concerned citizens who were on the agenda commended the board on its action.
Bob Armentrout, a county citizen of 12 years, thanked the board and congratulated the efforts of the opponents saying, "We've done our best to keep this board from doing something that was unwise, and we applaud you for that."
Frances Ramsey told board members their action today adequately answered her questions.
Mike Amberg encouraged the landfill proponents to continue their pro-active stance by continuing to attend supervisors' meetings "to let the county know we still care."
Vincent Finelli looked into the future and asked citizens to imagine what could be done if such energy is directed to finding people jobs in the community.
After learning of the Charlotte County supervisors' decision, Allied Waste Project Development manager Ted Neura acknowledged the issue is indeed an emotional one saying, "I am probably the only person in this room who is disappointed with the board's decision.
"I'm really not sure where we will go from here. I'll have to take today's results back to the company and wait for some form of decision," he concluded.
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