Quorum Court Votes Down Concrete Crusher Deal

The Jefferson County, Ark., Quorum Court voted earlier this week against buying a concrete crusher but approved buying an excavator to be used to recycle concrete.

County Judge Jack Jones expressed disappointment in the decision. "I'm disappointed," he said, explaining that "we could have cleaned our county up." The judge would not speculate on whether or not he would revive the proposal later on.

The Solid Waste/Recycling and Finance committees last week recommended that the full Quorum Court pass two appropriation ordinances -- to buy the crusher and spend $90,000 to purchase a used excavator.

Recycling Coordinator Sherry Caldwell said the decision of the Quorum Court means "we cannot accept any more concrete without the crusher. You cannot crush the concrete."

Even though the Quorum Court did not approve the crusher, Caldwell said the county still has a need for the excavator.

Not having a crusher was described by Caldwell as "a stumbling block."

Caldwell described the concrete recycling program as "an environmental issue for the judge. It would have been better for the roads."

The failing appropriation ordinance called on the Quorum Court to appropriate $200,000 for the Jefferson County Recycling Resource Recovery project to purchase the used concrete/recycling equipment.

District 9 JP Glen Brown warned that "we don't exactly know what it's going to cost the county."

Randy McNulty, a local contractor who does business with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, appeared before the Quorum Court to restate his opposition to the concrete recycling plan.

McNulty had questioned how much money the proposal will cost the county. "You don't have all the answers you need to make a decision," he said. Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Commercial