Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Nearly 60 county residents attended the March 25 Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority annual public hearing on the Green Box Fee. There were so many that the meeting had to be held in the Circuit Courtroom. Throughout the meeting, a large number of audience members shouted questions, complaints and in at least one case, threats of criminal prosecution of the SWA members. These very loud shouts and comments were made not just during the public hearing about the setting of future Green Box fees or during the regular public comment period of the regular SWA meeting that followed. The shouting contin- ued throughout that meeting as SWA members worked through the items on their agenda. The authorized public comments alone took more than an hour to be heard.
At one point, when Ruthanna Beezley, of the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation (GVEDC), was explaining the role of that organization regarding the future ownership of the several acres of the landfill where the future transfer station will be built, she was loudly interrupted with shouted questions and appeared visibly upset. Beezley tried to explain that the GVEDC is only trying to save the SWA money by eliminating the property tax and they have been doing this for county businesses over many years and the GVEDC is not involved in any of the SWA’s decisions.
The audience, a large portion of which was made up of people from the upper end of the county, were, for the most part, in opposition to SWA’s contract with Jacob Meck’s JacMal Properties LLC. Under that contract, JacMal will build the transfer station and once completed, it will lease the building to the SWA to run. The fixed monthly lease payment by the SWA will be $16,759 for 15 years, following which there will be a buyout in the amount of $1,103,495.24, after which the SWA will own the transfer station.
Most of the audience felt that this contract should have been put out for bid, especially that portion of the contract which awards JacMal the right to be the hauler of solid waste from the green boxes to the transfer station.
They also objected to the probable increases to the green box fees and tipping fees at the transfer station which the cost of this contract will require.
Some of the people were incensed that the SWA was going to charge the green box fee on each deeded lot in the county, not just on lots containing houses or businesses. Although, SWA Chairman David Henderson addressed this directly at this meeting, as he did at the last meeting; by saying they are NOT going to do that.
One of the biggest concerns expressed was that the SWA was not going to allow any trash generated in the county to be taken out of the county without it passing through the county transfer station and paying the tipping fees on it.
Durbin Mayor Kenneth Lehman and Durbin Town Council member Paula Bennett complained that it is closer and a lot less expensive for Durbin to take its trash to Dailey, but this rule would prohibit that. Others called this requirement an infringement on their rights.
Another large concern voiced over-and-over was the probable increase to the green box fee that this lease will require.
Some called for a vote on the entire proposal, while others said it was illegal, with one person actually threatening to put Henderson and possibly other members in jail over this.
Some objected to the SWA passing any motions about this since currently there are only three of the five authorized members on the SWA, with the other two vacant positions still waiting to be filled. However, Henderson explained that three is a legal quorum for them to take action.
Despite the feelings expressed by the audience, the members passed a motion to allow Henderson to sign the contract with JacMal Properties LLC once the land lease deal with the GVEDC is complete. They did, however, drop the trucking agreement for the transportation of garbage out of the contract, saying that will be put out for bid. They also passed the proposed updates to the Mandatory Garbage Disposal Regulation, which does include the requirement that all trash generated in the county must go through the new transfer station once it is operational. They said this is financially necessary to hold down green box fees.
