Greensboro City Council to weigh ideas for landfill
GREENSBORO — The White Street Landfill issue just won’t stay buried.
The Greensboro City Council heard another proposal Tuesday night that could involve reopening the landfill for some waste but manage it using new technology.
Bob Mays, a project manager for Cico LLC asked the council to seek input from other companies on the project. That was enough to reopen a heated topic for the city.
Councilwoman Goldie Wells said the idea of reopening the landfill to save money has become an issue because it is an election year.
“The landfill was supposed to be a closed issue,” she said.
Last year, the council voted to continue the ban on dumping household trash at the 1,000 acres off U.S. 29 in northeast Greensboro.
But during budget talks earlier this year, Councilman Mike Barber floated the idea of reopening the site to save money.
Barber has argued that the city is wasting millions to ship its trash out of the county instead of using the landfill that was closed to household trash in 2006. He was absent Tuesday.
Mays and Paul Gilmer, who live near the landfill, said they want to show the city how a public-private partnership can efficiently run the landfill using new technology and involving the community in the process.
Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small objected to soliciting companies to bid for a project.
“We don’t know what this is,” she said. “We don’t know what they’re talking about.”
She asked that the proposal be discussed during a briefing as others have been in the past.
Wells adamantly opposed the plan.
“The bottom line is that they want to reopen the landfill,” Wells said. “And I don’t go along with that. … I don’t even want us to consider that.”
Councilman Robbie Perkins liked the idea of community involvement, but he opposed rushing into a project.
He wanted to hire an outside consultant to assess the situation before moving forward in any way.
“It is one of the most significant topics we could possibly address,” Perkins said. “And we need to take it and do it right.”
Council members Zack Matheny and Mary Rakestraw supported seeking proposals, which they felt would provide information on alternative technologies to process waste at the site.
“Give them the opportunity to bring us something that might save the taxpayers money,” Matheny said.
Rakestraw argued that council members are supposed to be keeping their minds open.
Interim City Manager Bob Morgan said the council’s next briefing includes a discussion on new waste management technology. He also gave council members a thick binder with three studies conducted in other cities on this same issue, which should address Perkins’ concerns about research, he said.
“I think that’s a start,” Morgan said.
The council voted 6-2 to discuss the proposal at the Sept. 22 briefing.
Wells and Perkins dissented.
Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: The White Street Landfill, seen in this 2001 photo, was closed to all but construction and yard waste in 2006.
From the meeting
INCENTIVES
The Council approved two incentive packages that would come out of voter-approved economic development bond money:
* $1.08 million economic incentive grant for the McConnell Center industrial park at the interchange of McConnell Road and Interstate 40 in east Greensboro.
* $500,000 economic incentive grant for DDC Investments to develop 41 acres for a potential industrial company off Chimney Rock Road to make the site ready for an industrial facility to build.
PANHANDLING
The council made changes to the ordinance governing panhandling, further restricting where people can beg for money. The new rules, effective immediately, prohibit panhandling in parking lots and decks, by parking meters or kiosks, near financial institutions or ATMs, near barricades for outdoor cafes, and by entrances to businesses or residences. The new rules also make it a misdemeanor to panhandle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
BENCHES
Ben Holder, a candidate for City Council, delivered a petition with 17 signatures asking the city to remove five benches along the Downtown Greenway at J.C. Price Lane off South Eugene Street. Residents say the benches have been attracting illegal activity, such as prostitution. Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small countered with photos that showed the area to be clean and in use by walkers and bikers. Mayor Yvonne Johnson and Councilwoman Trudy Wade said the community’s concerns should be explored further.
Related Links
Search News-Record.com
closeSearch News & Record Article Archives
Not all of the newspaper's content appears online.
*There is a fee for downloading some older articles.
