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Charlotte board
says 'NO' to private landfill
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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. |