by Sherry Hamilton
The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a conditional use permit for Waste Management to establish and operate a borrow pit on 60 acres off Pampa Road, adjacent to the landfill at Glenns. The action was taken at the board’s Dec. 3 meeting in the colonial courthouse.
The action followed a vote of support for the permit by the Gloucester Planning Commission, which held its own public hearing on the matter on Nov. 7.
The permit will enable the business to procure soil from the borrow pit and use it to cover the refuse that’s disposed of at the landfill, said Planning and Zoning Director Anne Ducey-Ortiz during her presentation. She said she expected the operation to have minimal negative effects on surrounding properties and that she had received no written objections to it, although one property owner at the planning commission meeting was concerned about stormwater runoff and others expressed concern about noise, hours of operation, and the environmental impact of the operation.
Conditions placed on the operation included prohibiting access to the site via Pampa Road; requiring that dust, noise, odor, and vibration be minimized; establishing a 50-foot buffer around the perimeter and screening the northern area with evergreen trees; installing earthen berms to preserve the natural flow of water; installing a safety fence; and limiting the hours of operation to 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon on Saturday.
Bus communication
The board did not act on a request by School Superintendent Dr. Walter Clemons to use $308,000 in capital improvement funds to purchase a bus communication system.
Clemons told the board that the system is “a real safety need we have” since the buses have been using an antiquated system for a number of years. Bus drivers have to use cell phones in an emergency, he said, which is “a potential problem waiting to happen” because of dead zones where there’s no cell service.
“In the opinion of the school division, there’s nothing more important,” he said. With 1,000 children being transported on school buses every day, he asked that the board place his request “high on the list.”
County Administrator Brent Fedors said that the county has a number of projects to consider, that the fund balance is currently at 14.9 percent, and that using it for the communications system would lower the balance still further. He described county as “running at a lean state.”
“While the project may have merit,” said Fedors, “I would caution the board.”
The board decided to weigh the communication system along with the other projects that will be consideration during budget deliberations in April and May.
In other matters, the board:
—Heard from Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Tinsley that the total value of properties in the county had increased by 6.01 percent over the past year, from $4.44 billion in 2018 to $4.75 billion in 2019. She said that 14,728 of the properties in the county saw an increase in value, while 5,340 saw a decrease, and 4,800 remained the same;
—Received a clean, positive report, or an “unmodified opinion,” on the audit from Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, and
—Commended retiring Supervisor Andy James Jr. in a resolution for his eight years of service on the board that were marked by “intelligence, understanding, compassion, and integrity” as well as “exemplary dedication to the best interests of the community” and “untiring dedication to improving the quality of life for all.”