The railroad wants the Morrison and Smartt Station convenience centers off its property and the county is evaluating possible relocation sites.
At the county Health and Welfare Committee meeting Thursday night, Commissioner Steven Helton spoke on behalf of Sanitation Department director Josh Roberts and told commissioners the two convenience centers have to relocate.
“Basically, the Morrison Convenience Center is an issue. The railroad had a meeting with Josh and the Mayor of Morrison and basically they said they want us off that particular piece of property. There are some issues there that obviously y’all are aware of,” said Helton.
The Morrison site has experienced leakage issues and the only way to really fix the problem would be to dig a septic tank. Since the site is located on railroad property, the county is unable to do that.
“Obviously Sue Anderson and the town of Morrison are not happy with moving it away from the center,” said Helton. “Having to move it off the railroad we looked at many different pieces of properties in Morrison. Without just sticking it next to someone’s house in a vacant lot, there is not the property there. Nobody, and I don’t want to volunteer and I don’t think anyone else would want to volunteer, would want to put a trash dump right beside their house.”
County officials are considering a few different options including a site behind Volunteer Bearing and the old Freedom Express building. The issue with this site is it is potentially wetlands and Roberts is having people come survey the land soon to know for sure.
An ideal location is on property the county owns in Mt. View Industrial Park.
Said Helton, “Ideally what Josh and I talked about is having it in the Industrial Park. We already have the roads built and we wouldn’t have to worry about tearing up the roads. The beautiful part about putting it there is it would be the largest trash facility in Warren County, bigger than the fairgrounds.”
“Is that going to suffice for the Smartt Station site also?” asked Commissioner Blaine Wilcher.
“It is going to be combined. So good news/ bad news scenario is the railroad wants us off of two pieces of property,” said Helton.
The Smartt Station Convenience Center is considered dangerous and a safety hazard because it is so small and people have to back out into oncoming traffic and onto the railroad. Wilcher asked if there is a timeline and Helton said there is not a set timeline at this point.
Said County Executive Jimmy Haley, “We are just waiting on TDEC and the county already owns that property and it goes from road to road so it is one way in and one way out. They can do three lanes and have recycling bins and it would provide for the expansion of all the housing and development in the Morrison area so it is a proactive approach to a solution. I mean there is stuff leaking out and TDEC is either going to shut us down or fine us.”
Wilcher then asked how much they think it will cost and Helton said anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 which will include everything such as paving, fencing, and containers. The new site will be about 4 miles from Smartt Station and 1.5 miles from Morrison.
“We realize that by moving it some people really don’t like that idea, but what we are going to be able to do is we are all of the sudden going to be able to take batteries, and all your recyclables, and everything in a convenient location,” said Helton.
The other convenience centers located on railroad property are currently getting to stay. Roberts is looking into possible new locations. Helton is adamant that a new combined center at the Industrial Park will be very convenient.
“It is literally going to be the nicest facility to take trash in Warren County,” said Helton.
