Legal representatives of the landfill’s operators, Waste Management, along with the landfill’s director of operations came to fiscal court on Tuesday asking for the county to amend its solid waste host agreement to allow for the company to fill up the dump by 2015.
Attorney Fred Greene gave a brief presentation to the court Tuesday crunching numbers and telling about the landfill’s capacity. He told magistrates that Waste Management has been negotiating the past three years with the property owners of the land the landfill sits on, but have been told the lease will not be renewed after June 2015.
Greene said it has always been Waste Management’s desire to fill the landfill to its capacity of 3.3 million tons, but would now have to do it within the five years they have left instead of spreading it out over 15 or so years.
According to Greene the landfill can never exceed 3.3 million tons because of state regulations. The host agreement with Logan County allows for 1,150 tons per day. Waste Management wants fiscal court to change the agreement to allow the company to haul even more trash into Logan County because when the lease expires in 2015, the landfill will be 1.6 million tons short of capacity.
If the county amends the agreement to allow a complete fill up, it would generate an additional $1.6 million, according to landfill director Charlie Gillian. The $1.6 million would be in excess of what the county is already generating which is based on a percentage of the landfill’s net profits.
In 2007-08 Logan County generated $203,500 from the landfill and $234,800 from 2006-07.
“We want to be good neighbors and although we are in business to make money, we do not want to make it off the backs of their neighbors,” said Gillian.
Gillian told magistrates he was coming to the fiscal court as a business partner to let them know his company’s interests.
Magistrate Dickie Carter said he didn’t like the landfill in the county. “I don’t think you will find anyone who likes the landfill being here, especially those who live around it.”
The landfill is in Carter’s district.
“A lot of complaints have been made over the years about odor at the landfill,” said Carter to director Gillian. “They have also complained about the mud and waste on the roads. You cannot even put a swimming pool in that area of the landfill because the buzzards that gather there would poop in the pools.”
Bouldin asked to go into executive session during Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting to discuss a question he had concerning the property owner’s lease with Waste Management.
“I’m not trying to hide anything but I don’t think it is fair to discuss another person’s lease in public,” said Bouldin.
After about a 20 minute executive session the court reconvened. Bouldin said he wanted magistrates to go out and talk with their constituents about the issue and felt the citizens of Logan County needed to be heard from.
“You guys are going to have to sweeten the pot a bit before I would consider voting for the proposal,” said Bouldin to Gillian.
Bouldin asked Gillian if Waste Management would give the county the $1.6 million up front instead of over a five-year period. Gillian said he could not make that call, but would find out. Magistrate Jo Orange wanted to know if it could be put in the amended agreement that no sludge is ever taken to the landfill, despite Gillian saying the landfill no longer takes the smelly waste. Gillian said he felt negotiations could continue between his company and the county.
Carter wanted an assurance the landfill would be out of business in Logan County by 2015. He wondered if Waste Management ended up making a deal with the property owners what effect would that have on them leaving in five years. Gillian said he was sure that could be put in writing that they would be leaving and was also confident no agreement would be reached with the property owners.
“I like the sound of that,” said Carter.
The court agreed to table the issue until its November 24th meeting.
Two citizens living near the landfill attended Tuesday’s meeting and were in opposition to making any deals with Waste Management. Royce Houchens said he was afraid the blasting for a new cell that Waste Management is constructing to hold more waste would harm his water supply. Houchens said he was on well water and wondered what would happen if the blasting broke through his well.
Long time resident Wayne Coker said he had a well once and felt it was effected by some blasting done by Waste Management, but said he couldn’t prove it. This caused him to seek an alternate water supply.
“I don’t think the fiscal court needs to be selling the county down the river for money,” said Coker.
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