Yates raises a stink about WastAway odor
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McMinnville officials addressed the WastAway odor issue once again Tuesday night after resident Dow Yates came before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and said the smell is still there and as strong as ever.
“I live within a block of the place and the odor will gag you,” Yates said Tuesday. “I was outside today at about 3 or 3:30 p.m. and it was bad. It was going full blast. Three years is a long time to be working on one thing and not get anything accomplished.”
Yates said the city is ignoring an obvious codes violation. He said just because WastAway has been given one citation doesn’t mean it is now free to ignore current restrictions.
“If I get a ticket for running a stop sign, does that mean I’m free to run all the stop signs I want and never get cited again?” Yates asked aldermen.
WastAway CEO Floyd Bouldin said Thursday he wasn’t aware of any recent complaints.
“I haven’t heard any complaints in a while,” said Bouldin. “I thought everything was going all right so this is news to me. It’s something we’ll have to watch closer.”
City officials appeared eager to take action, but there was clearly some miscommunication in their current policy. The police department said it thought the codes department was responsible for writing odor citations. The codes department said it believed the police department was supposed to write the tickets.
When the city agreed to let WastAway handle its garbage earlier this year, it was part of that agreement WastAway move its fluff manufacturing facility from Belmont Drive to the old Findlay building in Morrison. City administrator Herb Llewellyn said it was his understanding the city wouldn’t take aggressive action against WastAway as long as the company was working toward moving.
Bouldin said WastAway is scheduled to have its fluff operation completely moved by Nov. 1. City officials weren’t sure of the moving date during their meeting Tuesday.
Said Alderman Patti Nunley, “We know the odor is there. We know the neighborhood has suffered. The question is what can we do to speed their move along?”
Alderman Bobby Kirby agreed to get in contact with WastAway officials and make a report to the board Aug. 23.