Cape St. George -
While it seemed great strides were being made in different areas of the southwest coast in relation to waste management, things now seem to have gone off track.
Coun. Raymond LeFrense of Isle aux Morts, speaking at the South West Coast Joint Council meeting in Cape St. George on Saturday, said a proposed regional site in the Codroy Valley area ran into problems because of a petition that was taken up by people who didn't want to have garbage from other communities brought into their community.
Mayor Tom O'Brien of Stephenville, who is also the chairman of the Bay St. George Waste Management Committee, said there were agreements from all communities that St. George's would be the site for the area.
"However, we received the letter we requested from Bay St. George South that had a number of questions in it. Because of that we can't move ahead," he said.
Mayor Fintan Alexander of St. George's said right now they are OK with their own garbage and that of Stephenville Crossing and several small communities going to the site.
Deputy Mayor Barry Noftall of Kippens asked how long it would take to prepare the St. George's site and be able to say they have a regional site that can be used.
Alexander said it could be ready in a few months so it certainly could be operational by the spring.
"Basically the only questions we have are coming out of Bay St. George South and we need the people from there asking the questions to come to us to get this settled," O'Brien said.
Alexander suggested that if its only one area, then they should move ahead without them and O'Brien said the community has to be told it is either in or it's out, and that it can't hold the whole area back.
Peter Fenwick, joint council president, said the good news in this case is the glass is more than half full.
"We want the finances to get St. George's ready and will continue our status quo but we really would like to move ahead," Alexander said.
Fenwick suggested it's time for the Bay St. George South area to "crap or get off the pot" on this issue.
Fenwick had suggested an area in central Newfoundland could be used as the supersite for western Newfoundland's garbage and that he had put that possibility out to Smart, who was having their consultants look at it as a possibility.
"Basically, this suggestion is out there to put pressure on those in the Humber Valley area to get their act together to hopefully get something done," Fenwick said.
It was noted Gilbert Smart, chair of the Western Regional Waste Management Committee, was supposed to attend the meeting; however, he had emailed and said he wouldn't be able to make it due to a family matter.
Stephenville's mayor is getting tired of the whole situation.
"This has been kicked around so long we're all getting frustrated with it," O'Brien said.
