Dump open again, for now - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

18 October 2007 — Folks hoping to take a load of trash and recyclables to the convenience centers in Fremont or Eureka Monday morning were in for a rude awakening.

Instead of an employee of the solid waste department greeting patrons, a closed gate mounted with a closed sign met those who ventured to the sites. That’s because the two convenience centers were officially closed on Monday morning by the Wayne County Solid Waste department.

Word of the impending closures had spread around town the Friday beforehand, prompting citizen action. Phil Yelverton of Eureka drafted a petition to keep the dump open, and collected over 500 signatures by Tuesday morning to present to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.

Others, like Dale Davis, wondered what prompted the closures.

“This end of the county is where all of your growth is,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to close down the facilities here.”

Mr. Yelverton added that the closures take the “convenience” out of the convenience centers.

“There are people in Eureka who have to drive as much as fifteen miles to the nearest dump in Patetown,” he said.

Tim Rogers, head of the county’s Solid Waste Department, said that the Fremont and Eureka sites, as well as the Jordan’s Chapel site in the southern end of the county, were closed primarily because of low use indicated in a recent study.

“Those three sites average 10 to 12 cars per day,” he said. “Our busier sites average between 80 and 100. It was not worth the money it took to keep it up.”

County Manager Lee Smith said that, while low use was the primary factor in the closings, the sites did pose some environmental issues as well.

“One of the sites does not meet state environmental codes,” he said.

The Solid Waste committee, which includes Mr. Rogers, Mr. Smith, and four county commissioners, voted on October 1 to close the three sites. After that, Mr. Rogers said that fliers were handed out at the sites announcing the October 15 closing date. Still, many patrons were unaware of the closing until word began to spread last week.

Mr. Rogers said a wider media campaign was not carried out to reduce confusion.

“If you have announcements on the radio and such, you get a lot of confusion with people thinking the other sites are going to close,” he said. “So we limited it to the people who regularly use the centers.”

However, after phone calls came in to the county managers office and the solid waste department on Monday, Mr. Smith presented the situation to the commissioners at a meeting Tuesday morning.

He explained the reasons for closing the centers, and noted that the closures did not need commissioner approval because it was a departmental decision. But in response to the widespread citizen concerns he heard on Monday, Mr. Smith said that a new approach would be taken.

The centers will temporarily be re-opened for 45 days, he explained, while the commissioners receive more information on possible options, which could include keeping all, some, or none of the centers open on a permanent basis.

“One of the centers, I have severe doubts that we can keep it open,” he said. “We may have to look at some consolidation.”

He noted that consolidation would allow work from the three sites to be moved to higher traffic sites.

“Wayne County is growing, and in order to keep our fees reasonable, we’ve got to find the best way to utilize our resources,” he said.

Commissioner John Bell acknowledge the large number of members in the audience who had attended the meeting because of the solid waste issue, thanking them for their time.

“It doesn’t bother us when you make that phone call to let us know what is bothering you,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Mr. Yelverton said that he hopes something can be worked out for those living around Eureka, because he worries that inconvenience could translate into more serious problems.

“We’re really worried that this is going to result in more illegal dumping on private property,” he said. “Recycling will go way down, and you’ll have all sorts of problems with people disposing of batteries and stuff like that.”

He said that the people of Eureka pay their taxes and fees for use of the center, and they feel like they should receive services in their area in exchange.

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