Grady Road Landfill remains a hot topic for area
A local resident had a simple question for the Polk County Commission during t heir r ecent meeting that doesn’t have a simple answer.
When it comes to the Grady Road Landfill, it s eems t here are no simple responses as Tim Yarbrough came to speak before a packed audience during their February work session to speak on landfill issues.
His question: “A lot of people want to know where are the commissioners on this? What position are you wanting to take?”
“If you’re for shutting t he regional l andfill down, and just having a Polk County Landfill, these people can live with that,” Yarbrough said. “If you’re against it and want to stick to your guns, that’s OK too.”
His main point was that if local residents and groups who have come out in favor of making significant changes to the way t he Grady Road Landfill is operated, they should have the right to know in order to make t heir own plans f or tackling the issue.
P“This is not going away, and that way if we know where you stand, and right now I don’t know,” he said.
The first question Yarbrough got in response was from Commissioner Jason Ward, who then spoke out for with his own thoughts on how to handle the issue and kept with a position he’s maintained: it’s time to renegotiate the contract.
“I feel like it’s time to sit down with Waste Industries and see what can be resolved and what can’t, and decide this is what we can and can’t do,” Ward said. “There’s only a select few who can do anything about it.”
Yarbrough wasn’t done though. He also asked t he board of commissioners about whether they could make any guarantees there have been no problems at the landfill involving leaks.
This came despite the landfill receiving scores of 100 on past inspections, which he admitted was the case, but said despite that he still had his concerns about whether the liners would hold over time.
“My biggest question is, can you as a panel guarantee to all these people and your kids, and grandkids and great grandkids somewhere down the line, can you guaranteee those liners won’t leak eventually? It may be one year or ten years? I’ll answer it for you. You can’t guarantee that won’t happen,” he said.
Other commissioners have said in the past they would like to see changes made at the landfill as well. Commissioners Jennifer Hulsey, Chuck Thaxton and Scotty Tillery all raised concerns over the landfill contract and tonnages going into the facility during past meetings, most recently at a called work session of the board to discuss and go over the contract.
Yarbrough’s questions came during the Feb. 13 work session at the same time the Landfill Citizen’s Advisory Committee submitted their first report on their own concerns over procedures at the landfill.
The group met on Feb. 8 and laid out a memorandum for the board to review which included the following reccommendations:
First, the committee reported they would like to see testing done for ground radiation. They also requested that immediate action be taken to remedy a problem with rainwater runoff entering other properties, including one owned by Glenn Campbell who is a member of the committee.
They also stated t hey had concerns about the procedure of not putting on a six inch later of clay over trash daily, which currently is done weekly with trash covered by a tarping system in between operating hours, along with ensuring that a 60-40 system of dirt and clay isn’t substituted for gravel and clay when spread over the trash as well.
The committee also requested the county put in place a complaint resolution system for those who have problems with the landfill, and that better communication between the public and the county over landfill issues be addressed.
“Polk County has not seriously looked at alternatives for some trash. Composting, recycling and waste to energy should be studied,” was also included at the end of the report as well.
The Standard Journal sought comment on what if any actions the county has taken on the report with County Manager Matt Denton, who is responsible for addressing all landfill- based issues with Waste Industries.
He did not immediately respond over the weekend.