Public invited to comment on rules for solid waste, sightseeing helicopters

By Lisa Majors-Duff

Tom Vokes, a member of the county's solid waste advisory board, is concerned that the proposed solid waste management ordinance, if adopted, could hurt the business he sacrificed all to start. As one of about a dozen private trash and recycling haulers in Jackson County, Vokes contends the ordinance's main drawback is that it does not establish a system to handle the very requirements it outlines.

"I haven't seen the county work on any long-range plans," Vokes said. "When the current system was set up, it was done by the seat of our pants using the Franklin landfill for solid waste and Webster Enterprises for recyclables. Since then there's been no real plan for the future."

As submitted, the proposed solid waste ordinance is designed to regulate the storage, collection, transportation, reuse, recycling and disposal of solid waste in Jackson County. It further puts in place language to establish the Jackson County Advisory Board, a group of volunteers appointed to oversee the ordinance and its administration, including the enforcement of the document and appeals from those accused of violating the rules.

Vokes puts first on his list of specific problems with the ordinance an issue raised by most of the county's private haulers - the provision that restricts them from using the county's staffed recycling centers to dispose of household garbage.

"Residential trash is a complex issue," he said, beginning with the tax assessment question. All property and business owners in Jackson County are assessed an annual $60 landfill user fee, including private trash haulers. While homeowners have a right to use an SRC to dispose of their garbage after paying this fee, businesses, according to the ordinance, do not.

Then there's the definition of "commercial waste," which is said to be solid waste generated by a business. Trash collected by a private hauler from an individual residence is not generated by the hauler, Vokes points out. Nor does the document ever clearly show how residential trash becomes commercial trash when it is collected by a hauler.

Being required to dispose of garbage at the Franklin landfill, combined with the requirement to pay that facility's tipping fees, "will cause me to loose business," Vokes said. "After the Sept. 11 attacks, I lost 17 customers because people were worried about the economy. If things get worse, I don't know what will happen."

Vokes, who described himself as a rule-follower, said, "I feel (the private haulers) have become the enemy for no reason at all, when we were trying to be a part of the solution."

Another problem with the ordinance, said Vokes, is the creation of the Solid Waste Advisory Board. Such a move, he said, puts volunteers in a position to make legal decisions they are not necessarily qualified to make.

"The idea for the advisory board came from (Community Planner) Geoffery Willet, who helped us with drafting the ordinance," Vokes said. "During a discussion of the enforcement section, he said he felt there needed to be a mediation board in place."

In addition to asking volunteers to make legal decisions, membership on the Solid Waste Advisory Board could set up a situation for fraud, Vokes said. If, as outlined, commissioners can remove individuals from the board without cause, advisory board members could conceivably make poor decisions just to keep others happy.

"I just think it's dangerous putting volunteers in charge when it deals with people's livelihoods," he said.

Instead of designing an ordinance that maintains the status quo as far as recycling is concerned, Vokes suggested the county consider developing its own recycling and composting system. Such a move may not generate funds for the county, but it could help save money, he said.

"This county is 'ga-ga' over profits," he said, "but government is not supposed to be about profits. It's about saving the taxpayers' money. It's when you start to think that private business can do it better that you get into trouble."

Vokes used both GDS, the county's solid waste hauler, and Webster Enterprises, which until recently had a contract with Country Collections to handle the county's recycling (see related story page 1A), as examples. Consultants have suggested that the solution to saving money with the GDS contract essentially boils down to reducing the hours at the SRCs, Vokes said.

As for Country Collections' handling of recyclables at Webster Enterprises, he was not as complimentary. Vokes said he and other private haulers have had words with Country Collections' owner Gregg Thomas over conditions at the Webster Enterprises, which had led them to be "banned" from using the recycling facility in Dillsboro.

Vokes continued by reiterating a threat first issued in August by Bill Buscemi, another private garbage hauler. If the proposed ordinance is adopted as written, Vokes said, "there's a possibility that all the haulers could get together and file a class-action lawsuit. My understanding is that government cannot legislate people out of business."

That's exactly what commissioners will be doing should they choose to adopt a ordinance designed to prevent sight-seeing helicopters from operating in Jackson County. Instead of regulating such businesses, as their attorney suggested, commissioners drafted an ordinance designed to permanently ground Smoky Mountain Tours, which has operated in Qualla community for three years.

The proposed ordinance, which was created by taking one recently adopted in Haywood County and substituting "Jackson County" in the appropriate places, begins by stating that the commissioners find "that unregulated helicopter sightseeing operations in the county is detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of its citizens and the peace and dignity of the county..."

But instead of then presenting any regulations, the document goes on to ban such businesses by saying "it shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor to operate or maintain any helicopter sightseeing operation from or within the boundaries of Jackson County" and that doing so could result in a fine "not exceeding $50."

The adoption of this ordinance has also prompted the business affected to threaten legal action against the county.

"The county cannot impose a law that puts a company out of business, and that's what this (ordinance) would be," Jim Garst, Great Smoky Tours manager, told The Herald earlier this month. "Their attorney has told them the cannot do this, so why would they even try? It's like they are saying, 'We don't care; we welcome a lawsuit.' Does that make sense?"

Public hearings on both the solid waste ordinance and sightseeing helicopters will be held at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Justice Center.

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