IN YOUR CORNER

 

What are the real arguments for and against the decision by the County

Commissioners to contract to have our garbage shipped to Okeechobee

County?  Have our Commissioners done a professional job in evaluating

the various options and chosen the one that benefits all the citizens of

Martin County?  Have our Commissioners balanced the pros and cons

objectively?  Did they act in a manner that instills confidence in their

leadership or did their actions bring concerns about their leadership on

setting priorities? The MCTPA has not yet made a final judgment, but we

have our concerns.

 

The current landfill will have to be closed eventually and another site

or method of disposal must be chosen.  As the years go by, the risk

increases that a site within or outside Martin County may entail costs

far greater than those saved by using the current landfill to capacity.

However, smoke clouded the room during the March 26th commission meeting

obscuring all objectivity regarding this issue.  The smoke did not

emanate from the landfill itself, but from the commissioners, county

staff, and the approximately 100 residents of Stuart West and

Cobblestone who crammed the hall in a very effective demonstration.  The

specific question was, "Do we run our landfill to capacity, or make an

early transition to a site not owned and controlled by us that would

cost customers more than $3 million per year in additional fees?"

 

Now comes the smoke:

 

- The commissioners state that they are the only commission capable to

making the "tough" decisions. THE REALITY:  Yes, tough on the taxpayers.

 

- Because of the proximity to creeks and tributaries, the current

landfill doesn't belong there. THE REALITY:  We're about thirty years

late in making that statement, the land fill is there.

 

- We should not locate any landfills in Martin County and threaten our

environment.  THE REALITY:  Why did we then try, and fail, to negotiate

the purchase of a 628-acre parcel within the county for our next

landfill before this latest action?  Also, if it's bad for us, it's bad

for Okeechobee too.  What happens should that county become

environmentally sensitive?

 

- Okeechobee County has a "state of the art" landfill.  THE REALITY:

Is not Martin County's landfill also state of the art fulfilling every

requirement to protect the environment?

 

- An Okeechobee official welcomes us to do business with his county

making a special guest appearance.  THE REALITY:  He should welcome us

as his county gets an override of $4 per ton tipped at their landfill,

and we'll be hauling it in at a rate of 500 tons ($2000) per day.  We

venture a guess that road repairs for the route they will use will

escalate also.

 

- No objections were reported when this plan was discussed with the

Taxpayers Association.  THE REALITY:  If our two earlier articles on

this subject and the verbal roughing this plan received when presented

by the Assistant Administrator to our board meeting didn't make our

point, we have totally failed to communicate.

 

- One commissioner was concerned with the spiraling costs of

maintaining our landfill to environmental requirements.  THE REALITY:

We must do this anyway. And this is a pittance compared to what is being

proposed.  Will not cost increases imposed in Okeechobee be passed on to

us?

 

- Residents spoke about the potential harm from methane gas, and of

odors, mysterious illnesses, and even mumbled about potential lawsuits

that could be brewing if things weren't changed.  THE REALITY:  Our

landfill is passing all environmental tests.  We have a methane

processing system.  And odor problems will probably continue, if not

worsen due to a transfer station.  But their arguments worked.

 

To summarize . . . Martin County will prematurely cease operations at

our own landfill which would have operated to 2020, for which we will

pay a premium of  more than $3 million additionally each year.  This

projects out to an astronomically large figure we will pay for a

supposed level of service improvement which most of us will never see.

 

What about those citizens that built or bought near the landfill?  They

do have the right to complain and petition the Commissioners even though

the conditions those citizens face may not be any worse when they built

or bought.  The Commissioners often use the argument that those who

bought near an existing nuisance have no right to complain even when the

nuisance grows (i.e. the airport turning into a jetport).  Why the about

face when the landfill is the issue?  Our Commissioners have bragged

about making tough decisions that previous Commissioners avoided.  Did

this Commission make the 'tough' decision? Whose money are they wasting

and who are the beneficiaries?

 

In closing, one commissioner questioned where the Taxpayers Association

obtained the numbers we have used, implying that our figures are

overstating the facts.  All our projections were based on figures

provided by sources we deemed  reliable, Martin County.

 

***

 

Our 2002 Annual Meeting/Awards Dinner held March 23 was a successful

event. The food was good, our business was accomplished, and a

successful year was reviewed. Martin County Administrator, Russ

Blackburn and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sara Wilcox discussed their

upcoming budgets and plans to deal with any funding shortfalls expected

from the state.

 

The Joseph V. and Permelia Reed Founders' Award was bestowed upon

twenty-six year member, Malcolm Crabtree. The Founders' Award was

established in 1993 as a tribute to the couple who incorporated the

association. The award is presented to individuals who continue to

foster its goals, demonstrate and support fiscal responsibility in

government, and promote the principles of the founding members of this

association. Mr. Crabtree is currently the president and director of

Indiantown Non-Profit Housing, Inc., a position to which he was

appointed by the late Governor Lawton Childs. Malcolm also serves on the

Martin County Hospital Review board, and is a past president of the

Martin County Realtor Association. Malcolm's involvement with the

Taxpayers Association began in 1976 where he has diligently served as a

past president, director, and long-standing member. Thanks, Malcolm.

 

A newly created Guardian Award was also presented at the annual dinner.

This award is given to recognize the efforts of an individual or group

who adamantly insist upon leaner and meaner governmental spending and

demand that taxpayers receive the best bang for their buck. This award

was presented to Commissioner Lee Weberman in recognition of his

conservative fiscal convictions and his consistent commitment during the

preceding year to more cost-effective government even in the face of

public pressure. Mr. Weberman is often the sole dissenter of decisions

he believes wasteful or inefficient. The Taxpayers Association honors

his  efforts to guard the public checkbook on behalf of all taxpayers in

this county.