Board of commissioners vote for return of countywide convenience
Robbinsville – “I think we need to redesign the plan, but we need public input before a new plan is put in place.”
The Graham County Board of Commissioners meeting had already elapsed an hour and 20 minutes Tuesday evening when the board’s vice chair Natasha Williams scanned her fellow members for a quick gauge of opinion.
Her one sentence was like music to many in the county who have expressed a high level of frustration over the decision to close down five of the eight sanitation sites available for trash disposal Jan. 1. But a 4-1 vote (with chairman Jacob Nelms opposed) pivoted back to the 24-hour access previously enjoyed countywide.
There are still a few loose ends to tie up. Namely, sites that were on state and federal forest service land will have to be analyzed once again on a contractual basis (the removal of dumpsters and closure of sites negated the deals in place).
Additionally, it was unknown at press time when the locations would once again be open for trash collection – or in what order accessibility would resume to the five closed sites.
The Graham Star will provide any updates before its next edition on its social media accounts (Facebook and X).
Crews quickly removed the dumpsters from the Bear Creek, Brooks Cove, Gladdens Creek, Meadow Branch and Snowbird locations in the days that followed the Jan. 1 deadline, closing off access to the sites and beginning the transition to three manned locations: East Buffalo, the Snowbird Transfer Station and Stecoah/Johnson Gap. The ones that remained will still be receiving upgrades like new fencing, gates and sheds for a full-time employee to man each location; if those same upgrades to the resurrected sites is unclear.
Each employee will be paid roughly $50,000 a year (including benefits); roughly that same amount has already been spent on upgrades.
But after hearing the public’s frustration during an extended public comment period early in the meeting, the board welcomed a second chance for public opinion: which quickly shifted back to the sites being closed.
Complaints from six individuals during public comment – with many in attendance nodding their heads silently in agreement – ranged from the hours of availability (hours of operation for the three remaining locations were 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 1-6 p.m. Sunday) to the extended travel time some residents were facing just to haul off garbage if they lived in a more-remote area of Graham County.
However, the biggest beef seemed to be that public input was not taken into account in advance. That will not be the case this go-around, as the board is planning to hold a public hearing while developing a new strategy for combating the long-standing issue of abuse to the sites.
Vandalism and illegal dumping teamed up over the years until sanitation director Gavin Colvard presented a scenario to the board at its September meeting for a 3-site system, which would eventually reach a point of charging non-local customers to drop off trash and be manned to cut back on the problems.
The board opted late last year to go with the pitch. A full-page ad ran on the back page of the Star for the final two weeks of 2023 and the first week of 2024 to give the public time to prepare.
Video of the meeting can be viewed now for free at either grahamstar.com, or on the Star’s YouTube page.
Next week: Safety concerns at jail stir more interest in planned justice center; EMS receives nod for ambulance; and more from the meeting.