Macon County commissioners voted 4-1 to enter into a bond agreement with Webster Bank for up to $10.5 million to build a new landfill cell.
At its Nov. 13 meeting, the Macon County Board of Commissioners sent a findings resolution to the Local Government Commission that would enable the county to commit to the bond agreement. After the resolution was approved by the LGC on Dec. 2, the county commissioners voted on Dec. 9 to enter into the 10-year bond agreement with Webster Bank.
The new debt will help the county build cell 2A of its landfill project, which will create much-needed space for solid waste as the current landfill cell is projected to reach capacity in July, according to Interim Solid Waste Director Jamie Picou. The new landfill is expected to take 10 years to fill. Picou said the county is seeing waste volumes increasing at a higher rate than its population growth, exceeding a traditional correlation between waste and populations.
“Based on the tonnage data, it looks like this trend did start around COVID,” Picou said. “During COVID there was a major shift toward disposable products rather than reusable ones for households, which likely reduced recycling progress. This is also a national trend.”
The demolition of the old hospital in Franklin contributed to an increase in tonnage of solid waste, though large demolitions like this are infrequent. Picou said she believed housing trends, especially in Highlands, may be driving the excess waste as limited development space increases the popularity of tear-downs and renovations, increasing waste in the process. She said this may also be happening in Franklin.
“Highlands, in my opinion, most of the usable land has been built upon,” Commissioner Josh Young said. “So for the people that built in Highlands, you tear down a house to build a house. And I think we’re seeing a lot of that up there which is adding a lot of capacity.”
“We are watching in Highlands mansions being torn down to build a bigger mansion, and it seems like … I see dump truck after dump truck after dump truck,” Commissioner John Shearl said.
“My hesitation on this is, I feel like we are being backed into a corner. We don’t have enough time to do anything other than build a landfill,” Commissioner Barry Breeden said. “Burn like 24 acres or whatever it is of a 43-acre piece of property we have for 10 years. You know, and then what happens after 10 years, or what happens after 30 years … eventually you’re not going to be able to landfill anymore, you’re going to have to transfer.”
Breeden said he did not feel building the new cell was the best idea and would waste land as the county searched for a new, more permanent solution to the increasing solid waste. He said he would not vote for the measure. It passed 4-1.
Next steps
County Manager Warren Cabe said the county would soon be working with commissioners to begin a planning period to cover the actual construction and development of cell 2A while exploring other options to keep the cell open and operational for as long as possible. These could include implementing a hybrid option for shipping some waste out of the county and bringing on a private business to mulch organic matter.
“I feel like we’re backed into a corner because we don’t have a lot options,” Cabe said. “But I can offer you a reasonable amount of financial stability … with this cell, then we can address some of the hauling things.”
Cabe said, if the county can put together a detailed plan, it might be possible to make the landfill cell last one or two years longer than the 10 years it is estimated to last.
Young said he would like Picou to work on developing a 35-year landfill plan to give the county a long-term pathway to ensuring future boards would not have to scramble to approve new landfill construction.
“I want to know how Macon County citizens can have a 35-year plan on where to take their trash,” Young said. Addressing Picou, he continued, “That’ll be potentially in your career path, right? I think it’s everybody’s best interest.”