Chair quits

Loudon County Solid Waste Disposal Commission is facing more turmoil after a letter from the former chairwoman blames fellow county commissioners for her resignation.

Kelly Littleton-Brewster, Loudon County commissioner and LCSWDC chairwoman, resigned Aug. 9, eight years after being appointed to the panel by County Mayor Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw. She had been expected to leave the board after deciding not to run for another term on county commission.

Littleton-Brewster sent a letter to Bradshaw dated Aug. 24 in which she restated her resignation and specific reasons for her decision. She named county commissioners Henry Cullen, Van Shaver, Bill Satterfield and Adam Waller in the letter.

“The slanderous attacks from these commissioners have caused psychological and physical harm to my body,” Littleton-Brewster wrote, adding that the “rude and outspoken” comments by the four commissioners hindered her ability to communicate.

“The disrespect these individuals show other people when they are to be leaders and spokesmen for their community is disgraceful and embarrassing,” she wrote.

Shaver said he had no idea what Littleton-Brewster was referring to other than their objections to the contract the LCSWDC was entering into with Republic Services to manage the Matlock Bend Landfill.

Waller said he enjoyed working with Littleton-Brewster and didn’t understand what she was referencing.

“We had a difference of opinion about a contract that has turned into a $5 million liability for the county,” Waller said.

Terry Small, LCSWDC representative from Greenback, also resigned at the Aug. 9 meeting in a letter that said he did not want to continue serving if county commissioners did not have confidence in the LCSWDC.

Small was referring to a June 27 attempt by commission to vacate the seats occupied by himself and four other county appointees. The effort failed in a 5-4 vote.

Bradshaw said he is evaluating candidates for the two open positions and expects appointments soon. He said he will be discussing the subject with county commissioners before appointments are made.

Members of county commission, including Shaver and Satterfield, have been critical of the recently signed contract amendment with Republic. Shaver has vowed that after new commissioners are seated Sept. 1, the commission will explore options to change terms of the contract not favorable to the county.

“The new commission is going to be looking very closely at the contract and the decisions made by the solid waste commission,” Shaver said.

At the Aug. 9 meeting, the LCSWDC unanimously elected Pat Hunter as interim chairwoman to replace Littleton-Brewster. Hunter, who will serve until a new chair can be elected next year, has a long association with the waste commission, mostly as a private resident who attended meetings for years before being appointed to the body.

“I plan to work closely with county commission and maintain transparency in all the work done by the solid waste commission,” Hunter said.

Controversy has dogged the organization since early this year when it became apparent the appointed body would be signing an amended contract with Republic. County commissioners criticized the terms of the contract for several reasons, including the amount of money the county received from operation of the landfill and the plan to raise tipping fees.

Other issues included the late payment of the county’s share of money from the landfill and a $500 campaign donation made by Republic to Littleton-Brewster.

Littleton-Brewster said she never requested nor received the donation and did not run for office.

Kim Turner of 5Star Waste addressed the waste commission about rising landfill tipping fees after speaking with county commission about the issue more than a week before. She said the $45 per ton fee negotiated into the new contract amendment would be in conflict with her lower contracted rates with Santek/Republic.

She said even though Republic purchased Santek in 2021, her contracted rates should be valid through the end of the contract in 2026. She also said she was concerned her company and others could be facing extra charges that could add as much as $20 to the new $45 rate.

Turner said the higher tipping fees will hurt other trash companies in the county. She asked the waste commission to give Republic permission to charge her company less than the $27.50 per ton minimum specified in the new contract.

LCSWDC attorney Kevin Stevens said the organization does not get involved in contracts between Republic and private companies. He said Turner would need to negotiate with Republic to get a lower rate.

Mike Classen, general manager for Republic, said his company had only notified Turner of the possibility of increased rates and had not yet raised prices.

Classen also addressed an issue of providing customer activity reports containing information on rates and volumes of trash for customers at the landfill. He said Republic didn’t include the data in the most recent reports because it is confidential.

Littleton-Brewster said information in the customer reports has always been provided to the waste commission, emphasizing the data was never distributed widely or put on the internet with other monthly reports from the landfill.

Hunter, an open government advocate and chairwoman of the county records committee, told Classen the information was public and could be accessed by residents under open records laws. She said the issue had arisen in the past and the LCSWDC had compromised by keeping customer records available to the public only by request.

“We are a public body and these are public records,” Hunter said.

Classen was also asked about the issue of mud covering the road outside the landfill. LCSWDC member Larry Jameson said the problem was longstanding but had been addressed in the past and improvements were made. He said he and other members of the commission had recently received numerous calls about the issue.

In a recent email to Hunter, Brian Viars, who lives near the landfill, said the mud problem was ongoing.

“The mud on the road is from the entrance from the landfill on Highway 72 and as far as Stop and Shop market, but for the most part it starts to fade out near the Honda plant on Highway 72,” Viars wrote. “This type of mess happens every time it rains and lasts for a few to several days after.”

Classen said breakdowns and a shortage of spare parts temporarily shut down some equipment at the landfill. He said Republic is working to fix the problem.

In an unrelated matter, Classen requested and was granted permission by the LCSWDC for Republic to communicate directly with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation about issues related to a major modification that would increase the footprint of the landfill.