“We don’t want it Here\”

Proposed garbage dumpsite not
sitting well with Seymour residents

During a meeting held at the home of Donna McGlothin on Saturday, May 22, the message was clear, “We don’t want it here.”
McGlothin lives across the street from a proposed site of solid waste convenience center located on property owned by Bill Cox. The property is a little over two miles from Chapman Hwy. on Wye Rd. between Gateway Village Subdivision and Mize Rd. It is 2650 feet from the Blount/Sevier County boundary line, a location that many in the neighborhood consider rural.
“This is a rural street. Motorcyclists and bike riders use this road all the time,” stated McGlothin. “This isn’t the place for a solid waste dump, in a residential area. It needs to be on a main road like Chapman Hwy.”
McGlothin, along with her neighbors, feel the site would also cause property values to plummet. Currently, the majority of the home sites in the area are on five plus acre lots.
During the meeting, County Commissioners David “Buster” Norton (9th District) and Bill Oakes (6th District) addressed concerns of the more than 40 residents of the area that attended the meeting. “The problem is getting worse,” stated Oakes. “We have a problem in the county because of the growth. We need a new site.”
Cox would receive $125 per month for ten years from the county for the use of his property for the site. The county would also spend approximately $100,000.00 to prepare the site.
Currently, the Sevier Solid Waste Board is considering budgeting for a compacter waste truck for next year. If that worked well, the compactors could be used at other sites instead of the traditionally used dumpsters.
Commissioners are caught in the middle. They need to add a new site while trying to keep everyone happy. “We have asked for alternative sites and no one has come forward,” Oakes said. “Before we take action, maybe we should let the word out we are looking for a site, give the requirements needed, and see what happens. We have only asked by word of mouth for two to three years now and so far haven’t had many options.”
The two waste center sites currently in the Sey-mour area are usually full and have been a constant complaint with residents trying to find a place to take their garbage.
“I know none of you want the site here,” stated Oakes. “But I’ll bet you that if it goes in, at least some of you in this room would use it.”
Other concerns with residents were that heavy trucks and the additional traffic would have an impact of the roads and the fact that it’s so close to Blount County.
Of the two existing dumpsites Seymour residents use at Boyds Creek and Chapman Hwy. at Floyds Market neighbors think these existing sites could be expanded or upgraded to receiver/compactor self-contained units, which would eliminate the open square containers.
Residents suggested asking if people living in the county would agree to have a pick up service. “We can ask in a state election to do away with landfills and have private pick-up, but to make a change 13 of the 25 commissioners would have to go along with it to make it happen,” stated Oakes.
By meetings end the neighbors decided to organize and elected both a spokesman and secretary. They plan to meet June 5th at 9:00 a.m. at Mc-Glothin home located at 987 Wye Rd. in Sey-mour before the County Com-missioners meet on June 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Court House. The Govern-mental Oper-ations Com-mittee (Solid Waste Board) meets prior to the commissioners meeting at 5:30 p.m. in Mayor Larry Water’s office.
The Governmental Operations Committee (Solid Waste Board) consists of seven commissioners, each having a vote on this proposed Cox site. Both attending commissioners suggested that concerned citizens contact their representative.
The Committee members are: Fred Atchley, Mike Hillard, Bill Oakes, Garold Rhea, Ronnie Allen, Tim Hurst, Greg Patterson.