SPRINGDALE -- The Springdale Planning Commission on Tuesday evening approved 8-0 the development of a recycling transfer station on North Old Missouri Road.
Trucks from Cards Recycling will offload household and construction waste at this facility. Cards staff will sort the waste, pulling off most material for recycling, said Dan Christenson, company president.
He noted recyclable material will be stored until sold, and other waste will be removed to various landfills within 24 hours.
The company serves thousands of customers in south Benton County, north Washington County and west Madison County, Christenson said. The company is based in Fayetteville.
James Pickney with Imperial Foods and Coffee spoke against the plan. Imperial's catering kitchen neighbors the land to the south. Newly Weds Foods, another food service company, also lies to the south.
Pickney spoke of concerns with smell, pests and dust from gravel areas next door to the food facility.
Chris Bakunas of McClelland Consulting Engineers said the waste will remain inside the building, which will remain closed at night. The floors will undergo cleaning once a week, he said.
He also noted the company would install fencing and extra landscaping for screening.
"We are willing to go above and beyond the code," Bakunas said.
Pickney after the meeting had an initial conversation with Christenson.
"They seem willing to work with us," Pickney said. "But we don't know what it's going to be until it gets there."
Kevin Parsley, chairman of the Planning Commission, noted the Cards facility will lie along one of the routes people use to come into the city.
The city has designated the area for industrial use and other companies there have made a commitment to keep their buildings looking nice, Parsley continued.
"The city has made that a favorable neighborhood for businesses to come," he said. "We have a huge opportunity there. Your expectations are high."
"The question is not if they can go there, but can they meet the city's minimum standards," said Patsy Christie, the director of the city's Planning Department.
Rick Barry, the assistant director of planning, said the company is working with the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality for an operating permit.
Christie said this Cards facility was approved by the Boston Mountain Solid Waste Authority. She explained all waste facilities must be part of the solid waste management plan in which the city participates.
"So, other agencies will also be monitoring them," she said.
Christenson said the Fayetteville company plans to spend $5 million on the 40,000-square-foot recycling transfer station, to be built in two phases.
The first phase of the project would include the waste and recycling facility, a sorting room and scale house, with eight employees, Christenson said.
The second phase would include an office building and truck maintenance shop. Christenson said he hopes to start construction of the second phase within six months. That building will be made of masonry and architectural panel.
The new space would include consolidation of other offices, which should bring 30 new jobs to Springdale, Christenson said.
Christie said Cards owns another facility on Johnson Road, across from the Tyson Foods feed mill, that does not comply with the city's regulations. She said city has asked the company not store bins outside and expand its parking lot and add some landscaping, but the company hasn't corrected the problems.