Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

District To Make 'Trashy' Video

Normality was the key word when the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste District's board met Wednesday, March 20.

Though the board had nothing pressing to decide, there were several issues to be discussed.

Jim Goble said the illegal tire dump near Friendship, in Hot Spring County, is being cleaned up, with completion expected soon.

The Garland County Class IV landfill saw a final report issued for tires. Goble said 58,500 tires were cleared from the area for $70,000, which was less than expected for the cleanup effort.

Goble said the three-county district is collecting about 50,000 tires per month, with most illegal dumps having already been cleaned up.

Bob Venutti, director of the Regional Recycling Center, said there will be no further radio or newspaper advertising done for the center at this time.

However, he said the Hot Springs public access television station has done an interview with him and Doyle Smith about the center which could be used as a promotional device for the center itself.

According to Venutti, the master tape will be made available to the district, with extra footage to be included which will show the other regions involved.

He said this tape could then be shown to civic clubs and schools for informative purposes.

But, he continued, some sort of "donation" will be needed for Second Baptist Church, the owner/operator of the public access station, for their work on the project.

The board said it couldn't authorize a "donation" for the tape, but did agree to authorize up to $1,000 to pay for "services rendered."

It is a violation of the law to use state or federal monies to make donations.

Venutti said the price of newsprint and corrugated cardboard has dropped drastically. It was $100 per ton, but is now $25 per ton.

Because of this, he requested a subsidy reduction be granted for the recycling center until the prices go up.

The center had been paying Hot Spring County $5 per ton for its recyclable papers, and will drop that to $2 per ton. Clark County's subsidy will drop from $10 to $4 per ton.

Loose paper from Hot Springs Village will go for $2 per ton under the subsidy reduction.

Because of the severe drop in paper prices, the center has a deficit of $50,000.

Venutti said if the problems continue at the center, the district may have to subsidize it from its grant from the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology grant.

Terri Harper, with the PC&E, said she had talked with her supervisor on the matter, and was told this could be done for operation of the center.

However, it was also said the grant cannot be used to pay such things as utility bills.

Smith said word of the district's recycling center has reached the governor's office.

Representatives of the governor issued a press release on the center as being the first of its kind with a three- county cooperative.

Smith also said there are areas which need to be modified at the center to make work go smoother.

This includes vinyl stripping to cover open doorways to prevent paper from being blown all over the facility and to keep the wind out; repairs to the roof; and an awning over the loading ramp to keep water out as well.

He said estimates for this work show it can be done for about $10,000.

The board agreed to have these improvements made so long as no more than $10,000 is spent.

The board also agreed to accept recyclable materials from the Diamondhead community, because it's property owner's association (POA) acts as the governing body.

However, the board will not accept recyclable goods from condominiums with POAs, because of the population difference.

The district's governing body will make a formal decision on this at its next meeting in May. A resolution will be presented limiting areas with POAs based on population.

There will not be a meeting in April because the board voted to amend its bylaws and only meet every two months.

This was done because there are some months when there is little or no business to conduct, other than paying bills. The bills, it was decided, can be paid with authorization through telephone conference calls so long as the media is appropriately notified.

In his administrative report, Garland County Judge Larry Williams said a formal budget for the district has been proposed, but is not ready.

The budget, he said, will be for each revenue source, showing what brings in how much, and where the money is being spent.

One issue which could be discussed at the May meeting of the board concerns the future location of its non- recyclable refuse.

The district's contract with Saline County's landfill expires in Sept. 1998. At this time, the district will either have to renegotiate a contract with Saline County or have an alternative location for its garbage.

Joe Ball, director of the Upper Southwest Regional Solid Waste District has mentioned the two entities merging to produce fuel pellets.

The Upper Southwest district has been approached by Georgia Pacific to produce the pellets and has been offered a tentative long-term contract for them.

However, the counties making up the Upper Southwest don't generate enough garbage to supply GP with the pellets it would need.

Because of this, Ball has contacted the Southwest Central district about joining forces, with the Southwest Central district being a full partner in the venture.