It is beyond me how Cherokee County Council dismissed Waste Management's proposal to build a $150 million recycling/landfill facility here without so much as a howdy-do.

Don't get me wrong now folks. I don't want all you CLOUT members camped out on my front lawn. I'm not saying council should have approved the 3Cycle facility.

What I'm saying is that council should have at least studied the issue in depth and negotiated with Waste Management to see just how sweet the deal could have been and put definitive answers to all of the questions about the proposed facility.

This project would have been one of the largest industrial developments ever in Cherokee County.

Let me repeat that: This project would have been one of the largest industrial developments ever in Cherokee County.

The $150 million capital outlay by Waste Management would have been $27 million more than the amount that in 1999 was the largest ever in this county. To wit, read this excerpt from The Gaffney Ledger's progress edition published last year: "Broad River Energy's announcement (in 1999) of a $123 million energy generating plant was the single highest investment in the county's history."

It was fiscally irresponsible for our council to summarily dismiss Waste Management's proposal.

I understand completely the concerns about how the project would have impacted the McKown's Mountain community and possible environmental issues.

I also understand that this project would have had an enormous positive impact on Cherokee County's revenue stream at a time when budgets are tight and getting tighter.

The initial proposal — and I have no doubt negotiations would have increased the numbers — called for Cherokee County to receive $2.5 million in taxes and fees.

Have you any idea what the largest taxpayer in Cherokee County paid in 2007? Didn't think so and neither did I until I acquired a list of the 10 largest taxpayers from the county treasurer.

Milliken and Company paid a total of $1,539,578 in taxes and fees in 2007.

Duke Energy paid $1,312,406.90.

And number three on the list, Nestle, paid $1,096,133.54. Timken was number four and paid less than a million.

What that means is that Waste Management would have been the LARGEST contributor to county coffers by far.

Opponents to the project have said we shouldn't sell our health and environment to the highest bidder. I agree, but the degree to which the environment of Cherokee County and health of its citizens would be affected should have been thoroughly studied.

There will be some negative impact no matter what type of new industry locates here.

For instance, do you think the residents who lived along Hwy. 29 were happy when Timken and Nestle built their plants and brought the hundreds of cars and trucks that go in and out every day?

Another concern council seems to be dodging is the future disposal of our own waste. It won't be too many years before a decision will have to be made and all of the alternatives carry a hefty price tag. Residents of this county will in all likelihood have to begin paying for trash pickup as they do in every other county in this state.

A recent letter-to-the-editor in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal from a resident there complained about the $84 she has to pay for city garbage pickup and a $47 annual landfill fee. Those amounts are low compared to what other cities and counties charge for the same service. For those living on fixed incomes, even the small amount charged in Spartanburg can be devastating.

And with unemployment in double digits, businesses closing and industries shutting down, tax revenues will likely decrease over the next several years.

Will we see a tax increase to offset these losses?

Maybe, maybe not. Oh, I almost forgot. The Duke nuclear project will save us from all of that. Hmm, that sounds familiar. Isn't that what everyone was saying on the first go round about 30 years ago?

There's one more thing that puzzles me. If memory serves me, certain members of this council have for years maintained that government has no right telling a property owner what he can or cannot do with or on his land, as long as it is legal. No way in heck would they approve any type of zoning in the county.

What about the company that owns the land Waste Management wants to purchase? What about their rights?

For all practical purposes the Waste Management proposal is dead, but I'm afraid the fiscal fallout has yet to begin.

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publisher of The Gaffney Ledger.