The more news of it the better it is for us (MHM), we have the technology that they want and they (SSC) have the salt slag that we want, a win-win for everyone we just need to show the people of Mt Pleasant, of what our technology can and will do.
------------- IF WE BUILD IT THEY WILL COME ----------------
Landfill debate driving wedge into Mt. Pleasant
By SKYLER SWISHER, RICHARD CONN and TIM HODGE/Staff Writers
In Mt. Pleasant, folks still have fish fries to raise money for people in need, and the Main Street barbershop is a place to find a healthy dose of conversation.
And when the Mt. Pleasant High School Tigers take the football field for a home game, the stadium is filled to capacity.
But beneath the facade of small-town America, an issue is dividing the town and pitting neighbor against neighbor. Sandrell Heating & Air
Mt. Pleasant City Commissioner Bob Shackelford put it this way: ?We?ve got a general mess down here, and it?s not getting any better.?
Town meetings that used to be sparsely attended are now crammed to capacity. City commissioners are bombarded with phone calls. The town?s city manager and entire planning commission were fired recently. The city attorney who had served the town for 43 years resigned citing an unacceptable work environment only to be reinstated after six days off the job.
At issue is a proposal by two companies based in this town of about 4,500 people to build a landfill inside the city limits. Tennessee Aluminum Processors Inc. and Smelter Services Corp. have been trying for four years to place a landfill near their plants that would house salt cake, a byproduct of recycling aluminum.
The landfill?s supporters say it is needed to keep the companies competitive and people working. The companies employ about 225 people.
Others are fighting the landfill because of concerns about how it will affect the environment, their health and their property values.
A TOWN IN TROUBLE
Mt. Pleasant was once known as the phosphate capital of the world, and mansions built when the mines were booming still dot the highway into town.
But today, Mt. Pleasant is suffering. About a quarter of the town?s residents live below the federal poverty line. The infrastructure is crumbling, and the town?s wastewater system continues to falter, despite millions of dollars being poured into overhauling it.
Clinton Lee, who was entering Mt. Pleasant?s Tietgens Cee Bee Wednesday, said his neighbor works for one of the aluminum companies, and he would hate to see him lose his job if his company isn?t allowed to have a landfill.
?If it?s their backyard and if they want to do what they need to do with the aluminum, that?s pretty much their own property,? he said. ?They ought to be able to do what they want to do with it.?
Yet, others see the landfill as a potential environmental calamity. When salt cake comes in contact with water it produces ammonia and heat.
Company officials say the landfill will only take salt cake, and it will use the latest technology to guard against leaks and odors. Some, however, are skeptical.
?The landfill is a mistake,? said Don Hays as he stood outside the town?s post office. ?It?s going to get wet, and when it gets wet we are going to smell the ammonia gas.?
?A CLEAR SPLIT?
A new chapter is opening in the landfill debate. The July 5 election changed the makeup of the city commission.
City Commissioner Tom Blankenship said there is a clear split on the commission �? he and Shackelford on one side and Mayor Maury Colvett, Vice Mayor Ricky Frazier and Commissioner Chris Frierson on the other.
Who controls Mt. Pleasant?s government could decide the landfill?s fate.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has issued a permit to the companies. The town?s planning commission, however, voted down plans for the landfill in a 7-2 vote Aug. 2. The companies need planning commission approval to move forward.
Colvett, who was one of the two ?yes? votes Aug. 2, on Tuesday dismissed the planning commission, including himself, and appointed seven new members.
Alan Graf, attorney for ACORN, a community group opposed to the landfill, believes the removal of the commissioners was ?arbitrary and capricious.? He suspects the landfill companies are behind the changes and predicted the new commission would reverse the Aug. 2 decision.
Charlie Holt, legal consultant for the city, said at Tuesday?s City Commission meeting that the planning board works ?at the pleasure of the mayor? and that Colvett was acting within his jurisdiction when he removed its members.
Colvett, along with Frazier and Frierson, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Company officials also did not return phone messages.
The controversy is taking a toll on at least one of the town?s officials.
Blankenship, who is not originally from Mt. Pleasant and has lived in the area for about six years, said he ran for a seat on the commission in the July election because he wanted to help the city.
But the divisiveness on the commission, the controversy surrounding the landfill, along with the upheaval in town government, have led him to question his decision to serve on the board.
?I?ve asked myself several times just in the last six days, ?what kind of stunt have I pulled??? he said.
But Blankenship said while Colvett may have the law on his side, the mayor shouldn?t have summarily dismissed members who had a lot of knowledge about issues.
?What Maury did last night was legal, but that don?t make it ethical,? Blankenship said. ?And there?s a great big difference.?
Story created Aug 18, 2011
Good luck to all that hold MHM. The technology we have is out of this world and soon to be around this world.
MHM Price at posting:
82.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
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