Solid waste advisory committee to hold second meeting
Members of the Rutherford County Solid Waste/Advisory Steering Council will meet at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Murfreesboro City Council Chamber, as they continue to consider options for solid waste after the Middle Point landfill closes.
Middle Point is expected to reach capacity in no more than 8 years. At that time, taxpayers will lose free use of the landfill – worth at least $4 million annually – and the county will no longer receive approximately $900,000 a year, which is paid by other counties that use Middle Point. Against this backdrop, committee members are looking for potential solutions that will best serve Rutherford County for years to come.
“This is not a question of ‘if’ or ‘when,’ said Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland, a committee member. “The question is how do we plan now so that we have something in place that is economically and environmentally sound when Middle Point reaches capacity.”
Mayor Ernest Burgess, also on the committee, said committee members are ready to move ahead.
“We got a good look at Rutherford County’s overall solid waste picture in our first meeting. Committee members have also examined how other communities are dealing successfully with similar circumstances.
“Now, we can focus on the smartest steps we can take to put Rutherford Countians in a good position when Middle Point closes.”
The committee includes representatives from Rutherford County government as well as the cities of Murfreesboro, Smyrna, LaVergne, and Eagleville.
After a series of open meetings, advisory committee members and consultants – who have been commissioned to study the Middle Point situation – will map out and present options for going forward. Community input will be important to the process.
Members of the advisory committee include:
Rutherford County
• Mayor Burgess
• Mike Kusch, County Commissioner
• Lynnisse Roehrich-Patrick, former Executive Director of TACIR
• Dr. Kathy Mathis, associate professor, MTSU
• Merry Hickerson, County Highway Department coordinator
Murfreesboro
• Mayor McFarland
• Kirt Wade, City Council Member
• Paul Latture, Chamber of Commerce
• Joe Whitefield, Vice President for Facilities, MTSU
• Jeremy Harrison, All in One Recycling
LaVergne
• Kyle Brown, Assistant City Administrator
• Garlon Russell, Public Works Manager
Smyrna
• Harry Gill, Town Manager
• H.G. Cole, City Council Member
Eagleville
• Andrew Ellard, City Manager
The upcoming meeting of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday Feb. 27 in the Council chambers at Murfreesboro City Hall, 111 W. Vine St. The public is invited to attend. The meeting will be streamed on local community access television.
For more information about the solid waste project, please visit the new website, RenewalRutherford.com, and connect on Facebook (Renewal Rutherford) and Twitter (RenewRutherford).
