Commissioners on the county's environmental committee decided to have Solid Waste Director Wayne Blaylock and Finance Director Nathan Brock "check into some estimates" as to how much it would cost the county to build, run and maintain a solid waste transfer station.

The decision came after a nearly three-hour meeting of the environmental committee last Thursday night. The committee will meet with the full county commission for a work session after the estimates are obtained.

The committee discussed the county operating its own solid waste transfer station after the county tabled a pending contract with two solid waste transfer companies last month.

Last month several commissioners had questions about the county building its own transfer station and performing the work itself.

The contracts between Cumberland Waste Disposal and Fay Portables had already been approved by the finance committee and were pending approval of the full county commission.

Cumberland Waste Disposal, a Waste Connections Company, was the low bidder in a request for proposal (RFP) sent out by the county seeking an operator of a solid waste transfer station in the county to haul and transfer the county's waste. 
CWD was the low bidder at $30 per ton for class 1 waste.

Fay Portable Buildings was the low bidder on construction and demolition waste disposal at a rate of $35 per ton.

Jeff Brown, 8th District commissioner, made a motion for Blaylock and Brock to get the estimates together in order to compare them against the contracts with CWD and Fay.

Trey Kerley, 5th District commissioner, supported the motion and it was unanimously approved.

"It will take roughly 30 to 60 days to get these estimates. I mean, you've got real numbers here from two companies that are in this business and deal with this on a full-time basis. You've got to consider capitalized costs, equipment, construction. Any number is going to be an estimate. There are all kinds of variables and it can be picked apart ...," County Finance Director Nathan Brock said.

"We're looking at some substantial numbers here. It could take a possible tax increase to get this done," 3rd District Commissioner and Environmental Committee Chairman Lynn Tollett said.

"When you look at the operating costs, the benefits, the costs are going to be considerably more ... It's not always cheaper to do it yourself. You have to consider the volume these businesses deal in this with multiple contracts in counties across the state. They can probably do it cheaper," 9th District Commissioner Carmin Lynch said.

Both members of Fay and Cumberland Waste Disposal were on hand as well as several members of the public. Both companies said other options were available, such as the county hauling garbage to either company's facility, but any of those negotiations would require another RFP be sent out for bid.

Blaylock reminded commissioners that if the county were to build its own waste transfer station and start operating it that the county would have to apply for a permit with the state Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) in the same manner as Paul Pennington did with Tennessee Recycling and Sanitation. Waste Connections purchased the property and transfer station from Pennington on Hwy. 68 in the Cumberland Homesteads community.

"Honestly, I don't want to waste any more time on this. We've got solid figures here. An estimate is just an estimate. It can be anybody's number. But, let's get the estimates, compare and make a decision," said 1st District Commissioner Harry Sabine.

If the contracts are approved by the county, CWD would start hauling and transferring county class 1 (household) waste after the county's landfill is closed sometime within the next two years. Fay Portables would haul away commercial and construction waste.
The county plans to begin closure on the first half of the county landfill later this year. The second half is anticipated to be closed by the county sometime during the 2011-'12 fiscal year.

Representatives of both companies said they would hold their bid figures for another six to eight weeks.

One issue bothering 3rd District Commissioners and residents of the Cumberland Homesteads area if the contract were approved is CWD would potentially operate the new transfer station on Hwy. 68.

Wayne Blaylock asked Doug McGill of Waste Connections, "Would you consider doing the work at the transfer station in town rather than the one on Hwy. 68?"

"We'd have to take that higher up (in the company), but there would have to be concessions on both sides," McGill said. "It's not out of possibility."

He told commissioners that $30 a ton to haul off the counties garbage is one of the lowest in the state.

"I doubt if there's any cheaper. I don't think you could operate it that cheap, McGill said.

Fay said there were other options on contracts they could discuss with the county such as Fay hauling the garbage off from the convenience centers or the county bringing it to Fay's transfer station site off Hwy. 127 N.

"That would require another RFP to be bid out and we don't have that kind of time," Tollett said.