County commissioners in Jenkins County absconded from their duties Tuesday afternoon as the heat intensified over a proposed landfill in Jenkins County.
Commissioners were slated to meet for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting Tuesday, July 11 at 4:00 p.m. for a number of business matters, but when three commissioners did not show up, official business could not be conducted. Meanwhile, more than 50 citizens and business owners were in attendance.
The meeting agenda included consideration of approval of a state-mandated Solid Waste Management Plan, which would alter the terms and conditions under which a new landfill or an expansion of the current landfill could be proposed. Also on the agenda were line items on other county business matters, such as insurance renewal votes for property, liability, and health policies, departmental reports, and three items for consideration in executive session.
But when Commissioners Tracie Coney and Pamelia Dwight failed to show up and Commissioner Jonathan Powell phoned in from out of town on a previously planned family vacation, the commissioners failed to have a quorum to conduct official business. Chairman Horace Weathersby told the crowded room that legal counsel advised they could not vote on the matter but would hear from the people who had previously signed up to speak during public comments.
Two-Pronged Issue
Commissioners were slated Tuesday to approve a Solid Waste Management Plan, which is a supposedly revision to a state mandate plan that governs solid waste, landfills, and tangential enterprises.
According to County Attorney George Rountree, it is unclear whether or not Jenkins County has ever had a SWMP, but if one existed, it had not been updated since the 1990s. Rountree said the SWMP would provide ‘protections’ beyond what the state requires.
Simultaneously, Atlantic Waste Services has submitted an application for consideration to county commissioners. It is currently pending.
The SWMP must be approved by the Board of Commissioners and the landfill application must be approved by the board, but the two votes happen months apart and the approval of one does not guarantee the other.
What is yet to be determined, however, is how a SWMP approved after an application for consideration of a landfill is proposed will come into play. Under Georgia law, governments cannot create or amend local ordinances to retroactively control or impact an application – for anything – that was pending or existing prior to the approval of the respective ordinance, resolution, or plan. Because the application by AWS is pending and the county has not approved the SWMP, much still remains unclear.
Standing Room Only for Turnout in Opposition of Proposal Landfill
Residents Vondesa Lee, Reginald Sapp, Robert Jenkins, and Greg Lee all vocalized their concerns, along with Damon Mullis of the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, ranging from property values, quality of life, hazardous waste, pollution, and much more.
Vondessa Lee asked why there was so much scuffle to hurry with the SWMP if a formal proposal on a landfill was not currently underway. She also shared that she had asked for a copy of the SWMP on Friday, July 7, but was told it was ‘not yet available to the public’ for review, despite the commissioner’s plan to vote on the matter five days later. She subsequently asked when the public would have the chance to see the SWMP. Her question ultimately was not answered.
Lee also inquired about the current real estate transaction by AWS and a private property owner, through September, for a possible expansion of the existing landfill. She said Commissioners Spann and Weathersby told the public the land was placed under contract until sometime in September ‘to allow time needed for a permit to be awarded by the Board.’
“Is that correct?”
“That may be true, it probably is. But we don’t know that and can’t confirm that,” County Attorney George Rountree said. “We’re not a party to that contract if it exists, and I don’t doubt that it does. What we do know is that Atlantic Waste has applied, under our existing landfill ordinance, for a permit to operate a landfill and that application process is ongoing. The county has hired an engineer who is in the business of reviewing landfill proposals…to see if it passes muster on the surface before it goes any farther. The application has been sent to the CSRA Regional Commission to review, which they have done, and there’s another set of procedures contained within this SWMP that is under consideration that there will be additional steps that have to be gone involving additional public hearings and such before that can be considered by the county.”
Rountree then said that if the county approves a conditional permit, the applicant, AWS, would pay $1 million to the county and the rest of the process would be handled by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD).
You can watch the full comments by each beginning at the 7:00 minute mark in the video below.
Commissioner Support of Proposed Landfill is ‘Primarily Financial’
Commissioner Hiller Spann told the crowded room at the conclusion of the meeting that the pursuit of this possible landfill is ‘primarily financial,’ in that it would bring the county $60 million over 30 years.
Members of the crowd replied that the landfill was ‘not wanted’ and that even that amount of money is not worth the impact on property values and quality of life. Span replied:
“I listened to everything y’all had to say. You either listen to what I got to say or we can leave. It don’t really matter to me.”
When asked what the money would be used for, Spann replied that the county would cut the millage rate by 20%, though the number appeared to be without additional foundations and information. Residents vocalized that they would rather have the current millage rate and no new landfill, with one even calling the county ‘money hungry’ with its approach to taxes and fees.
Spann, at that point, rose from his chair and said “There’s an election every four years” before he departed from the room and the meeting adjourned.
