Some changes in the WTS siting process

In this week's edition, I wrote what I hoped was a wrap-up of where things stand on the solid waste transfer station siting process. We enter the summer with two sites actively in mind: Millhouse Road and West 54. In talking with Gayle Wilson this morning, some of the county's "summer reading" (my words, not his) has changed.

Because Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said late last week the Town Council would not discuss officially offering the Millhouse Road site until September at the earliest, the county is in limbo. Wilson said he has been told to stop any further investigation on the site for now.

"I've been told officially to do nothing this summer on Millhouse Road," Wilson said.

The reason is that there is no real indication the town will actually offer the site, so money and time shouldn't be wasted on investigating the site if nothing will ultimately come of it.

As for the West 54 site, the Army Corps of Engineers recently completed a delineation study on the site (looking at potential affected wetlands), and information will be sent to the county, then to the state, then back to the county planning board for a final call on whether the site is permittable for a station. Residents in the area have made the case that a station would impact wildlife not identified in the county's initial assessment.

So, Wilson said, the chances of more information on that site being back to the county in August is "about 50/50." He said he would be "slightly surprised" if anything is ready by then. There is then a chance that nothing is back by August.

Olver clearing up tax issues
On a (somewhat) unrelated note, Olver, the consultants tasked with helping select and manage a transfer station, are working through some tax issues with the state. In a letter given to commissioners before this month's final regular meeting, C. Mark Blaylock, CFO for Olver Inc., writes that the company has not been certified with the state since 2004 because of back tax issues.

"We have recently learned that the corporate certification for Olver Incorporated has been suspended by the Secretary of State of North Carolina," he wrote in a letter dated June 16. "This suspension has been in effect since February 2004."

The suspension was in place because the state Department of Revenue has no record of the company's 1997 corporate tax return. That year was the company's first operating in North Carolina, Blaylock writes.

The company is working with the state to resolve the issue and file a 1997 return. Wilson said he doesn't foresee the suspension having any effect on the county's relationship with Olver.

"As long as they proceed deliberately with solving it, I don't see it affecting their present relationship with the county," he said.