Resident concerned about landfill

T. J. ROYAL

The Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners business on Monday included approving debt service payments for school construction projects and listening to concerns about the Edgecombe County Landfill.

The debt service repayment is for $316,241, paid by June 30, for classroom improvements made at various Edgecombe County Public Schools buildings.

The board also approved $81,400 for payment for tile installments in classrooms at eight schools, including the three high schools. There was also $75,000 approved for HVAC replacement work at North Edgecombe High School.

Those funds are from the county's Public School Building Capital Fund, which is supplemented by the North Carolina Education Lottery.

During public comments, Collin J. Webb Jr., a Suggs Road resident, raised his concern about extra land owned by the county near the confines of its Construction and Demolition Landfill along Colonial Road.

Webb said that a previous Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners had told him of its plans to close the landfill and turn it into a ball park and recreation area. Though he did not have it with him at the meeting Monday, he also said that previous county management had given him, in writing, an intention of its purposes with the landfill.

County Manager Lorenzo Carmon, who attended Monday after missing October's board meeting as he recovers from heart surgery, told Webb that the county still has plans to use the land for equipment that captures and converts into energy the methane gas emitted from the landfill.

In February, the commissioners signed an agreement with Environmental Credit Corp. to install the equipment. If it goes through, Carmon said the county is looking at using the energy from the methane gas to power a manufacturing facility to dry out sweet potato skins.

The county has "no plans whatsoever to expand the existing footprint of the landfill," Carmon added. The county contracts with Bertie County for all of its municipal waste, while construction and demolition debris is the only waste allowed to be buried in the landfill on Colonial Road.

Carmon and Commissioners Vice Chairman Charlie Harrell both told Webb that because the county has financial liability over possibly hazardous conditions caused by activity at the landfill, it has the incentive to ensure things are run properly.

Two companies also were denied by the commissioners Monday from having tax penalties set aside for filing personal property past the county's March 15 deadline.

Montana Tractors wanted to have a $4,059 late fee, 10 percent of what it owes in taxes on personal property, waived by the commissioners. Nomaco also sought an abatement on a 10 percent tax penalty.

Bob Goltz, vice president of operations for Montana Tractors, said the late listing by his company was due to a "lack of communication" between its corporate headquarters in Springdale, Ark., and its offices in Tarboro. Montana bought Farmtrac at auction in November.

Cindy Vice, vice president of finance for Nomaco, said its tardiness was due to a clerical error, where it was assumed the company had an extended deadline to meet its listing obligations by April 15. It was noted that 72 of North Carolina's 100 counties have the April 15 extended deadline to list property.

County Tax Assessor Cindy Coker told the commissioners the March 15 deadline for Edgecombe had been in effect since 2002. It was accepted so tax assessor staff, which means Coker and one other employee, would have time to complete all filing documents for the 2,800 corporate accounts within Edgecombe.

Commissioners Chairman Leonard Wiggins noted that the board could not go against state statute enforcing the penalty, while Commissioner Viola Harris noted that "it's not the first year" the county has had the March 15 deadline.

The commissioners also:

• Awarded the It Starts With U Foundation $97,000 to help 50 recently released inmates and ex-offenders find employment and resources in the community to help them reenter society. The funds come from a $138,885 grant from the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

• Accepted $37,700 from the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Trust Fund, for consulting services from Agricultural & Community Development Services, to help the county determine best practices and best usage of farmland by Edgecombe County farmers.

• Approved new rates for Edgecombe Home Care and Hospice services. Routine home care for Hospice was raised $5, to $145. Continuous home care for Hospice patients increased $31, to $835 per day, and inpatient care also was raised $30, to $640.

• Declared November as Nonprofit Business Awareness Month, because of the contributions made by non-profit businesses to the local economy and the economy of North Carolina. Housing and Economic Development Director Eric Evans cited The N.C. Center for Nonprofits that such businesses have invested $76 million, and created 1,000 jobs, in Edgecombe County.