County: Landfill answers coming
Subhead: Commission chair Thaxton promises “we’re going to fix it.”
The name has been buzzing around Polk County for years now, but the entry into official local lexicon has been slow. The question over what to do about “Mount Trash-More” also known as the Grady Road Landfill, keeps coming up at County Commission meetings.
And thus far, the only response from the Polk County Commission members is “we’re working on it, and we’ll let you know.”
Frank Plant, a f ormer school board member, was the latest of the group of local residents who have been outspoken critics of the Board of Commissioner’s
He said he wasn’t mad and looking to raise any trouble, but that he was upset that local residents weren’t getting a clear picture of what is happening at the Grady Road Landfill, which is managed and operated by Waste Industries.
“We put you people in office, and you have the power,” Plant said. “And I feel that when you’ve been given the power — and I was on the school board so I know — that you have a responsibility. And I think one of the biggest responsibilities you people have is to give an accounting of yourselves and your actions to the people who put you here, the people of Polk County. And I perceive they aren’t getting answers.”
Answers specifically about what the county commission plans to do about the landfill, Plant said. “I may not like what you say that you’re going to do about the dump,” Plant said. “But I want to know what you’re going to do.”
Plant continued during his time during the Commission’s work session that his perception was that a consultant had been brought in to help the county figure out what to do about the Grady Road Landfill and public perception issues around “Mount TrashMore,” but that thus far no one has discussed openly what the county’s plan will be.
“We’re not hearing anything, and I think some of you care about that,” Plant said.
He specifically pointed to Commissioner Chuck Thaxton to ask where he stood on the issue.
Later on in the night when t he board was wrapping up their regular session and Plant had left, he did address his position on the landfill.
“I want everyone to know that we are working on some things, and we are getting some help,” Thaxton said. “And when it comes to the landfill, it’s a contract that is ... almost 20 years old. I’ll be happy to talk to anyone who wants to talk to me individually about it. We are looking at some things, and it is under contract, and we have to be very careful about how we handle things.”
Thaxton added “I know it looks like we’re doing nothing. There will be some people I can’t change their opinion of it. But that mess has to be cleaned up quickly, whatever happens.”
In past months, the county has made strides after calls from Commissioners Jennifer Hulsey and Scotty Tillery pushing for action to be taken to slow down the rate of trash coming into the facility at the Grady Road Landfill.
Waste Industries also in past months partnered with the county to form a Citizen’s Landfill Advisory Committee made up of members of the public to make recommendations about improvements to be made.
Comments over the past month have called on the Commission to additionally fix issues or get Waste Industries to make fixes, including complaints about the smell, trucks arriving well before opening, and potholes on Grady Road that are causing traffic issues.
Hulsey added during this month’s meeting that she echoed Commissioner Chuck Thaxton’s that the county is working on something.
“I have no intention of ignoring it,” she said. “As far as I know, no one on this board is willing to ignore it. But I will say that we got in this mess because we didn’t have consultation, and we’ve got to fix that. We’re working on a consultant, and we’re going to be giving you information soon. It’s coming. And I appreciate the voters being patient with us.”
Commission Chairman Marshelle Thaxton echoed those comments as well, and added the county was seeing “what we can and can’t do to keep us from totally bankrupting this county.”
“As soon as we have something, because I’ve always been told that if you’re going to put something out, put out the right information the first time, so you won’t have to change it and go back and forth, and back and forth,” Thaxton said. “We all know we have a mess that started in ‘98 or 2000. But we’re going to fix it.”