A company that is proposing to build a scrap metal facility in Rogers, Ark., hopes that the Rogers City Council will allow it to make its proposal in front of the city’s Planning Commission. (Read Earlier Story)
The company, called Cimco LLC, already was turned down for a conditional use permit by the planning commission last month. However, Tom Smith, one of the partners in the project says that the company has made some changes to its initial proposal that should allow the company to build at the facility.
Smith, president of Roll Off Service, a Springdale, Ark., facility, said that after its initial request was turned down the company took many of the comments from concerned citizens, as well as questions expressed by the local government, and made changes to its proposal.
One step the company has made is to eliminate the inclusion of an aluminum sweat furnace at the site.
The partners in the project, in addition to Smith, include the owner of J.B. Hunt Trucking, and a Tim Graham, a local developer. The proposed scrap yard would handle both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The nonferrous metal would primarily be handle inside a 40,000 square foot warehouse that will be located at the proposed site.
The proposed site is zones for light industrial, and needs a conditional-use permit to operate any outdoor scrap operation.
Along with removing the sweat furnace from the location, the company also is hoping to clarify some of the concerns residents have with the proposed site. “We have addressed all of the concerns of the public,” Smith says.
One issue that the group will address is the concept of electronics recycling. Smith says that the company will be only the material, and Cimco will be shipping the processed material to an electronics recycling facility.
Another step the company will be making is working to reduce the potential of noise that would be generated at the site. A school is located close to the site, and there had been some concern that it would be disruptive to the school. However, Smith said the company would install noise reduction systems at the scrap yard to eliminate the problem.
The company already has a rail spur at the location. If the company receives the go-ahead they hope to have the facility built and operation within 60 days. According to Smith the company already has invested $1 million at the site. However, if the City Council turns the company down again they will look to build the scrap yard at another location.