Commissioners Against Landfill Property Purchase Cite Timing And Details As Reason

A lack of information and timing are reasons why Putnam County Commissioner Theresa Tayes voted against the landfill property purchase Monday.

The commission voted 17-4 in favor of the $280,000 purchase. Tayes said it is not the time to buy property with a new year for property reappraisals.

“Citizens deserve to be thought about during this time of year,” Tayes said. “Because, some of them are already having a hard time paying their property taxes, and there is big increases coming in this year on those property taxes.”

Commissioner Cathy Reel also voted against the land acquisition. Reel said she isn’t fully against the expansion, but she was not comfortable with the details of the property.

“Right now with the high reappraisals on everybody’s property and spending the extra money coming budget time,” Reel said. “I just feel like we have excessively bought a lot of property for the county, and I just felt like it is not a good time to be spending a lot of money.”

Tayes said she also did not have time to look at the some 21 acres before voting on the purchase. Tayes said the property price was high and should not be purchased with unknowns in the future.

“I think we need to be diligent about how we use the tax payer’s money,” Tayes said. “We just came through a pandemic. We don’t know what is ahead of us, and we don’t know when this housing market will blow up. We know it won’t remain the same, because we saw it happen before.”

Reel said compared to other sold land, the landfill property was a higher cost. Reel said the 11 acres purchased by the county last year provides enough space for the time being.

“I think it was something that could have been studied and should just one property comes available,” Reel said. “We say the property is available, and we need to buy without a whole lot of discussion. Right now, we are meeting both of sessions in one night. I didn’t have the address last night on the property other than it was presented to me that it is next to landfill, and is 22 some odd acres, which is almost $13,000 an acre.”

The current landfill covers some 200 acres. It will be full in seven to eight years without the proposed purchase. Porter said the tornado filled an entire cell with the debris.