HOWELL – Members of the public spoke in a unified voice against the establishment of a solid waste transfer station in Howell when they were given the opportunity to address the members of the Monmouth County Solid Waste Advisory Council (SWAC).
Resource Engineering has proposed the establishment of a solid waste transfer station on Randolph Road in Howell that would accept 1,500 tons per day of bulky cleanup debris and bulky construction debris for sorting, removal of recyclable materials and subsequent transfer to an out-of-state facility for final disposal.
The applicant has indicated that as many as 200 trucks per day, Monday through Saturday, may enter and leave the facility.
The application was reviewed and approved by SWAC in May 2017. The application was scheduled to go before the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders in July, but the freeholders did not consider the matter and moved the application back to SWAC.
In January, SWAC convened in Howell town hall to disseminate general information related to the application and to listen to public comment. That night, SWAC’s attorney indicated the freeholders may consider the application at their Feb. 22 meeting.
On Feb. 13, Howell officials posted a notice on the township’s website stating that the matter will not come before the freeholders on Feb. 22. No date was given as to when the freeholders may address the issue.
During public comment in Howell, resident Leon Flaster said he represented 79 Randolph Road, 59 Randolph Road, 89 Randolph Road, “primarily most of Randolph Road.” He questioned the applicant’s claim that improvements such as a proposed traffic light would help to handle the expected increase in vehicles in that area of Howell.
Flaster said he, his family and his business are in the area every day.
“We are there 365 days a year and we do trucking ourselves, and we know how it is, so I do not know how you can say that doing a one-day (traffic) study will allow you to make the assumption that this is appropriate for this proposal,” he said.
Resident Catherine Moore asked if Howell would be financially compensated by government subsidies if a solid waste transfer station is established in the community. She was told Howell would be able to collect a minimum amount from each ton that is processed.
Moore predicted that neighbors of the transfer station will appeal their property assessment and seek to lower their property tax bill “because we will lose 25 percent of our property values because of this transfer station.”
Resident Brandon Reo called the proposed transfer station a “nightmare” and focused his attention on the number of trucks that will be going to and from the facility.
“So 1,200 more trucks (a week) are going to be coming up and down our local streets. … What are you going to tell us that is going to give us some kind of relief as to how on earth you are going to channel 1,200 trucks in and out of here?” Reo said, adding that residents are “stressed” about the proposed transfer station.
Attorney Paul H. Schneider represents Arnold Steel, which owns properties on Randolph Road. He commented on what he called a lack of transparency regarding the application.
“I would like to express concern with regard to the lack of transparency as to how (the application) was handled, in particular with regard to the developer’s agreement.
“In the July public notice the freeholders gave, they spoke of the applicant’s willingness to put in a traffic signal and said a developer’s agreement between the applicant and the county would be executed in conjunction with the Solid Waste Management Plan amendment to substantiate all of the improvements that have been agreed upon,” Schneider said.
Schneider said when he asked to see the developer’s agreement, he was told he could not review the document. He said there is a “moving target” in regard to the traffic issue and he asked for the data that he said keeps changing the vehicle projections.
“The freeholders’ notice in July said this (application) was for a facility that was going to take (two types) of waste. Presumably that is what (SWAC) voted on in May. Now it is a different facility that is only going to take (one type) of waste, so (SWAC) voted on something that is very, very different,” Schneider said.
Schneider said his client is in favor of reasonable development in Howell’s special economic development zone.
“My client’s facility generates 800 trucks a year, 400 in and 400 out. (With the transfer station application), we are talking about what my client generates in a year (happening) in a day. This is not a suitable site,” the attorney said.
