TAZEWELL, Va. — The ongoing relocation of the Tazewell County 911 Center is still creating controversy.
During a meeting Tuesday of the county Board of Supervisors, a motion was made by Northern District board member Jim Campbell to transfer the management of the 911 center from Sheriff H.S. Caudill to County Administrator Jim Spencer. The motion died for a lack of a second.
The sheriff, and the board members, have been at odds in recent weeks over the 911 center. Caudill told the Daily Telegraph earlier this month that 911 employees are currently being forced to work in “deplorable conditions” in a confining facility located on the third floor of a water plant. Caudill said the state’s wireless 911 board has identified the 911 center in Tazewell as one of the worst 911 facilities in Virginia in terms of the layout and condition of the facility.
The supervisors in return issued a press release questioning comments made by Caudill, including allegations of a secret board meeting. Despite the controversy, Caudill is still working to relocate the 911 center to the old junior high facility in Tazewell.
A second motion made Tuesday by Eastern District board member David Anderson to allocate up to $2,500 in funding from the county’s general maintenance account to assist the sheriff with basic maintenance needs as part of the ongoing relocation efforts was approved.
In other action Tuesday, the board agreed to accept sludge from a Consol plant in Buchanan County, and agreed to partner with the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center on a research and development project aimed at converting methane at the landfill into either compressed natural gas or pipeline quality gas.
When asked to explain the proposal Wednesday, County Administrator Jim Spencer said the proposal would allow the county to respond to anticipated future regulations while also creating a potential revenue stream for the county.
“What we are doing, and have been doing for many years, is trying to find ways to make our landfill not only more efficient, but also more cost effective,” Spencer said. “Anticipating future regulations that are going to require us to address methane from the landfill, this will allow us to fast track some of that, and it also could be a potential revenue stream because as the gas is produced revenue could generated from it.”
Spencer said the county is seeking grant funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission for the research and development project.
In terms of the sludge proposal from Buchanan County, Spencer said Consol needs a place to dispose of sludge in the Garden Creek community. Buchanan County doesn’t have its own landfill.
“They need a place to dispose of sludge,” Spencer said. “We will be accepting that sludge. We are going to request the DEQ (Virginia Department of Environmental Quality) allow us to do a demonstration project to use it as an alternate daily cover. What that means is everyday you put trash in the landfill, you have to cover it up with either dirt or a tarp. So we would be doing a demonstration project to see if this could be used as a cover. And again it’s being a good neighbor to help Consol. Buchanan County doesn’t have a landfill. So this should save travel time for the folks hauling it for Consol.”
– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com
Local News
September 9, 2010
911 controversy continues in Tazewell County
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