County seeks new dumpster site in south Grady

The Grady County Commission is soliciting help from south Grady County residents to help locate a suitable site for garbage dumpsters to be placed.
The owners of the Parkway Junction property in Beachton have notified county officials they want the dumpsters removed from their property as soon as possible.
A small delegation of Beachton residents appeared before the county commission Tuesday to discuss the situation.
This is not the first time dumpsters have had to be moved in the southern part of the county, and residents are concerned they may have to drive eight miles or more to the nearest dump site if a suitable location closer to Beachton is not identified.
“We don’t want to have to travel a long distance to dump our garbage. We pay a lot of taxes in the Beachton community,” Beachton resident Tony Ward told commissioners Tuesday.
With the pending removal of dumpsters from the Parkway Junction location, Curt Harris, also of Beachton, said the closest dumpsters would be on Hadley Ferry Road or on Lower Cairo Road. “That’s a pretty good ways to go,” he noted.
District 3 County Commissioner Charles Norton reached out to the Beachton community and asked for their help in finding a new location.
“We will leave them where they are temporarily, but we’ve got to find a place to put them. I need your help to find a place,” Norton said.
Ward suggested the dumpsters could possibly be located at the Beachton Volunteer Fire Station. Norton agreed that may be an option, but said it would have to cleared by the VFD.
According to Norton, the ideal spot would be a 1/4-acre tract or less. “Keep your eyes open and let us know. If not, we’re going to have to take them up,” Norton said.
In related news, Commission Chairman LaFaye Copeland told board members that she had previously mentioned to County Administrator Carlos Tobar that perhaps the city of Cairo and the county could work together on solid waste issues.
Copeland noted that the city is currently in negotiations to privatize garbage collection by contracting with Advanced Disposal.
“These garbage trucks are not inexpensive and this is a way the city and county might could work together. It’s just food for thought,” Chairman Copeland said.
The chairman said The Messenger editorial in the April 29, 2015 edition on the subject of solid waste privatization reminded her of her earlier comments to Tobar.
Commissioners Norton and Ray Prince said the county had contracted with private companies in the past, but said those companies could not operate the service as cheaply as the county was able to do.
However, the companies the county once contracted with were small, local firms and not a national firm like Advanced Disposal, Chairman Copeland said after the meeting.
Commissioner Norton told The Messenger following the meeting he did not have an issue with soliciting proposals from firms including Advanced, but he remains confident the county can operate the service cheaper than a private provider.
Commissioner Elwyn Childs, who reminded board members he had to drive a garbage truck for one of the private companies in the past, said the county needed to be investigating where the county will dispose of its solid waste once the city of Cairo’s landfill is closed.
According to Childs, Decatur County officials have made overtures in the past to have the county dispose of its solid waste at the county-owned landfill in Decatur County.
Commissioner Norton said that Thomas County officials had also expressed interest in talking with the county.
“It’s something we need to start looking at,” Commissioner Childs said.