Highland Residents Offer Suggestions On McDowell Trash Compactor Controversy

Monterey, VA – Last week’s Highland County Board of Supervisors public hearing on possible condemnation of land at the McDowell trash compactor site drew several speakers and many comments. Realtor Charlotte Stephenson was the first to speak.

“I’d like to come forward and volunteer to help the county in looking for an alternative place for the solid waste site” says Stephenson. “I am trying to market the property for Mr. Eggleston, and we’ve had several people whose objection has been the solid waste site. So he is unable to actually sell the property in several cases because of that.”

“I don’t want our county to be known as entering into an agreement, and then when the person decides not to continue in that, that we take land from a man because of it.”

Mustoe resident Lee Taplinger had several suggestions to improve the appearance of the compactor site.

“I have four suggestions that would make it a lot better” he says. “Number one, the gates look bad because they’re hanging off their hinges; so you remove them and store them for the next county project. Number two, put attractive board fencing in front of the chain link fences all around; number three, replace the mercury vapor bulb with a sodium bulb; the light is a lot better because it doesn’t have that industrial glare, and they save a lot of money. Number four, patch the asphalt at that site and put a border where the asphalt is bleeding into the grass.”

Dave Smith, the only Stonewall District resident who spoke at the hearing, had a suggestion for the Supervisors.

“I think all of us have concerns when we talk about condemnation and public rights” says Smith, “whether you’re for or against it. And I would encourage our Board of Supervisors to try to sit down and work out some kind of a compromise on this property. That trash compactor was there when he bought the property, he knew it was there. The other thing is site improvements’ at $10,000.00 of tax payers money to move a site when in my personal opinion, it’s not necessary.”

Supervisor Jerry Rexrode pointed out that developing a new trash compactor site would now be a very expensive proposition.

“To move that site, you know it’s not a $10,000.00 operation to move it; you’re looking at somewhere around 40 or 50 thousand dollars to put in a new site” says Rexrode.

The Highland County Board of Supervisors is holding a closed meeting on Wednesday, August 24 at 5:30, to discuss the question of the McDowell trash compactor site.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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