Tenants of the Ogden Commercial and Industrial Park are worried a proposed garbage transfer station near them could end up trashing their businesses.
In fact, several have threatened to pull out of the park if the Weber County Commission builds the $7 million station there.Weber County commissioners say they can understand those concerns but may have no other choice.
The county has until Oct. 8 to close its current landfill in West Ogden for environmental reasons. It has approved a contract with ECDC Environmental to haul garbage by rail from a new transfer station to the Carbon County landfill.
City officials nixed a proposed station in West Haven on part of the Amalgamated Sugar Co. property. So commissioners are considering putting it on about 30 acres of county-owned land south of Ogden's commercial park.
Both locations were recommended by the consulting firm, SCS Engineers, which completed a site selection study last year.
"We either have to resolve the solid waste issue, or in October, we start eating it," Commissioner Spencer Stokes said, "and I don't want to."
Ralph Craven, who is building in the industrial park, said he may have to move his business before the end of the year if the station is located there.
"If the transfer station comes to the park . . . our facility won't be completed, and we'll immediately put our building up for sale and go to Riverdale or Layton," said Craven, president of Craven Corp. construction firm.
Joe Cornwell, co-owner of Set Point Engineering Systems, said his company also owns land in the park and is preparing to build. But the transfer station could change those plans.
"If you're trying to attract businesses, why would you put a dump right in the middle of them?" Cornwell asked. "It can do nothing but detract from our business."
Craven's brother, Dave Craven, president of Craven Engineering Inc., said he is upset because he thinks Stokes lied to industrial-park tenants.
In a Feb. 9, 1995, letter, Stokes assures them: "It is not the philosophy of the commission to use the industrial-park land to site a transfer station since a greater value would be added to the community by continuing to locate viable businesses on the land in the industrial park."
Stokes said he wrote that letter before the site selection study was done, and before the West Haven site fell through.
"That's the reason why you don't write those kinds of letters, I guess," he said.
The Cravens fear the station will bring noise, traffic and odor to the park. "We've nicknamed it the "Temple of Trash,' " Dave Craven said.
But commissioners maintain that transfer stations are much different than landfills.
"I think people are considering it as a dump, and they're not realizing what a transfer station is," said Commissioner Bruce Anderson. "We believe it is compatible with the businesses in that area, and they're not going to have a significant negative impact."
Commissioner Joe Ritchie said the county is committed to running a facility that is clean and odor-free, with minimal noise and no trash stored overnight.