Macon OKs $10 million landfill expansion
Macon County has found itself backed up against a wall with the need to construct new landfill cells.
File photo
The decision to secure over $10 million to build two new landfill cells was, in a sense, an easy one for Macon County commissioners to make, but what lies ahead is less certain.
The issue has come before commissioners each of the last few months.
The board had chewed on the facts and thought about the complicated situation during that time, so although the Dec. 9 vote to fund the project was relatively quick, the process has been deliberate and required a good deal of work from County Manager Warren Cabe and Interim Solid Waste Management Director Jaimie Picou.
Commissioners thanked Picou for the work she’d put into best presenting the series of imperfect options to the board over the last few months. During each meeting, she’s faced questions from curious commissioners, which required her to build a significant knowledge base in a short amount of time.
“She’s swimming in trash now,” Commissioner Gary Shields joked.
Picou, formerly the landfill’s environmental waste specialist, told The Smoky Mountain News that the learning curve has indeed been sharp, mostly because she’s had so little time to get up to speed on the issue.
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“If I would have been able to do it in a longer time, it would have been not as hard,” she said.
Even residents have taken notice of the large task Picou took on. During the Dec. 9 meeting, Betsy Baste, a former teacher, offered praise during an aside during her public comment.
“That’s the best presentation I’ve ever seen for how to understand a complicated issue,” Baste said of Picou’s use of a PowerPoint presentation to commissioners during a previous meeting.
The current landfill is expected to reach capacity this summer, and a finding a home for future waste must be addressed quickly. While the operable dump can exceed capacity by 10%, that still doesn’t leave much of a buffer, and once new cells open up in about 300 days, that overflow must be moved to the newly opened area. Commissioners voted to finance the construction of the new cells, 2A and 2B, using a bond issued by Webster Bank. The new cells are expected to last about 10 years.
While Commissioner Barry Breeden voted against authorizing county administrators to secure funding for the landfill, the vote in favor of the contractor, FM Kitchens Construction Services out of Jefferson, Georgia, was unanimous. There were five bidders, and Kitchens’ $8.41 million bid was more than $1 million lower than the second lowest. The amount appropriated for the project included the $8.41 million, as well as about $2 million for associated fees and contingencies.
Cabe admitted that the deep investigation required to present the options to the board that he and Picou undertook was “probably one of the hardest” he’s seen as an administrator, adding that he doesn’t exactly like all the options, but the situation requires quick action. He had a recommendation for the board.
“I think we need to proceed with the financing approval for the landfill sale and construction,” he said.
The proposal was to finance the construction of the cells on a total of about 12.5 acres adjacent to the current landfill and the necessary equipment to operate it using special obligation bonds, which will be paid for by revenue generated from the landfill, meaning it operates almost more like a private enterprise than a government service.
Commissioner Barry Breeden was the lone dissenting vote.
“I feel like we’re backed into a corner and we don’t have enough time to do anything but build a landfill,” he said, adding that it’s “hard to sign onto $10.5 or $13 million with interest.”
Prior to that vote, he elaborated on his concerns, which in reality extended beyond the matter right in front of the board. His question, basically, was what happens when 10 years fly by and the county finds itself again in the same position. While there is more land that can be turned into landfill cells, Breeden said he doesn’t want to convert more of Macon County into a waste dump, and even if that were to happen, it’s ultimately a solution that can serve for only a few decades total.
Picou said that the total 20-or-so additional acres the county owns that could be used for further landfill expansion would work for about 30 years. The plan for the new cells is 10 years, but there’s no guarantee those won’t fill up faster than that. During the meeting last week, Cabe mentioned that the waste stream has exceeded expectations the last few years.
While solutions beyond the new cells weren’t discussed as though they’d be implemented any time soon, board members did ponder what could be done in the interim to mitigate what could be a headache for future commissioners. While there is still land that could be converted for landfill expansion, other commissioners echoed Breeden’s sentiment and expressed some desire to get ahead of the problem and avoid having to use that land.
“It’s all about buying time,” Commission Chair Josh Young said.
Over the last few months, commissioners have considered shipping waste out of the county; however, that option requires the construction of a large and expensive transfer station, and hauling costs more in the long run. Right now, Highlands, which produces about a quarter of the county’s trash, runs its waste through a transfer station, so commissioners considered that shipping just that waste out of the county instead of to the Macon landfill could buy some time.
Commissioner John Shearl, who lives in and represents Highlands, said he’s seen trailer after trailer loaded with large debris as people tear down old houses to make room for new construction, and that just shipping trash that goes through that transfer station would spare the landfill all that volume.
Another option is to reduce the volume of waste that enters the landfill by focusing more on recycling. Because those materials are processed separately, that could slow the new cells’ rise toward capacity.
Cabe also discussed charging more for certain items and spoke with particular disdain about mattresses, common items that don’t compress and simply end up taking up space.
“Maybe it costs more than a dollar and a half to put a mattress in,” Cabe said.
Breeden said just because they authorized the funding for construction of cells 2A and 2B, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t still build a new transfer station — which would cost about $8 million and take a year and a half to build — for the county just to get ahead of the inevitable.
“We could haul two or three days a week and maybe make this thing last 20 years,” Breeden posited.
“Is it feasible to build that cell and a transfer station?” he asked Picou.
“It is if you have that money,” Picou responded.
“I think we need to get on that road to a transfer station quick,” Young said later in the meeting.
Cabe said that either way, he intends on pursuing grants through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality that are available to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and could help the county address this problem.
Once all was decided, as commissioners got ready to move onto the next agenda item, Shearl reiterated the theme of the discussion.
“I really want to get down to the nitty gritty with this for future planning,” Shearl said.
“I have the same want,” said Picou.
