Next month
The next Cedar Grove Community Club event, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., features an ice cream supper and backpack giveaways. The club meets every third Saturday typically each month at Cedar Grove Community Club building in the Mountain Cove area of Walker County.
Cedar Grove Community Club celebrated the Fourth with a special celebration July 9. But it wasn't all just food and fellowship. The club took the opportunity to uphold another hallmark of the patriotic holiday: democracy.
The club welcomed officials, including County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell, who gave a presentation on the state of Walker County.
"The SPLOST debt was the only debt we had. We were featured in Georgia Trend three times," she said, listing accomplishments.
Heiskell also pointed to plastic manufacturer Audia and its presence in Walker County, which she worked hard to land, she said.
"We put a lot of money into it [Audia]," she said. "They built the first plant and are getting ready for the second. It cost us money in a bond. Walker County's total assets are $107,000,000."
But several in the audience wanted to focus on something the county stands to lose: its landfill.
"We don't need to sell our water system, our sheriff's department, and we need the landfill too," said Rick Byrd, owner of Byrd Trucking, who also questioned why the county can't make the landfill break even in terms of operational costs.
The landfill has lost an average of $535,000 a year since 2011.
Several weeks ago, Heiskell announced her intent to sell it. She came under fire from members of the community, including her two challengers in the commissioner race, Perry Lamb and Shannon Whitfield, for the decision.
Last week, she announced she had declined the only offer.
The offer, from Santek Waste Services, would have paid the county $1.7 million plus $1 for every ton of waste brought to the site.
But that doesn't mean the landfill's potential sale is off the table. Heiskell said in a statement that Santek's offer did not meet the county's requirements. She did not respond to a message asking what was wrong with Santek's bid, but in her statement she added that she still intends to sell the landfill.
Lamb and Whitfield have criticized Heiskell for rushing to sell the landfill before the election. Heiskell said she needs to unload the operation, in case she loses her re-election bid.
Lamb and Whitfield have also criticized her for the landfill's losses, saying county employees have not properly managed the landfill. The dump on Marbletop Road in Chickamauga only handles construction and demolition waste - basically, trash that does not rot.
Regular household garbage can be dropped off at the site, where trucks will haul it away to another landfill.
Whitfield said if elected, he believes he can lead the landfill to profitability.
He pointed to the Catoosa County landfill. It has two sites that are both shut down, costing Catoosa County about $400,000 per year for environmental monitoring. But a methane gas-to-electricity operation on the landfill helps offset some costs. Whitfield added that Catoosa County also leases its landfill sites as transfer stations where people can drop off garbage.
Catoosa County Chief Financial Officer Carl Henson did not return multiple calls asking how much the county made from its landfill operations.
Lamb also believes the county can make money off the landfill, though he doesn't know the best way to turn it around because he believes no information is available about how it's really performing.
"You've got to look and see," Lamb said. "Can it be made at least a break-even deal for the county? I really don't think the best thing to do is give it to a private company."
Heiskell has speculated the county could turn a profit, but she said, "I haven't tried to make a lot of money on it. I'm sure it can be done."
Speaking to the crowd gathered July 9, she said, "Walker County is the only county that owns a landfill. We will be very cautious about how we sell it. We want to keep it running. Dade County charges $50 a ton [at their landfill]. An inmate comes and takes it out of the car. You won't always make money on it. We have not made money. We let Down Home Days, for example, dump for free into the landfill."
Staff writer Tyler Jett contributed to this story.