County Commission Recognizes American Legion, Hears Proposals for Solid Waste Management

The Wayne County Commission met in regular session on Monday, April 21, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the County Administrative Building. County Executive Jim Mangubat called the meeting to order. Commissioners in attendance were Tom Mathis, Logan Shull, Kathryn Staggs, Sherrie Powers, Colby McDonald, Tyler McDonald, David Martin, Vickie Petty, Jeremy Heard, Alvin Creecy, Patrick Butler, and Rickey Kelley. County Clerk Stan Horton was in attendance as well. Commissioners Stan Hanback and Stephen Pevahouse were absent.

Commissioner Kelley made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous commission meeting as presented. Commissioner Creecy seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved.

Commissioner Kelley next made a motion to approve the minutes from the various committee meetings. Commissioner Colby McDonald seconded, and the committee minutes were unanimously approved as well.

County Clerk Stan Horton presented the following to serve as notaries: Shermin Williams, Ausha Gatlin, Lexie Prince, Teja Alley Brewer, Veronica Gilbert, Savanna Hopper, and Jessica Lashawn Martin. Commissioner Powers made a motion to approve the notaries, and Commissioner Staggs seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Line-item budget amendments from the Sheriff’s Office were next. Commissioner Martin made a motion to approve the budget amendments, and Commissioner Powers seconded. Those amendments were unanimously approved.

The first item under old business on the agenda was a hospital update. County Executive Mangubat said that he had no update on the chiller situation discussed at the last meeting. Commissioner Powers asked that when the next meeting of the Hospital Board is scheduled, all commissioners be emailed in case they would like to attend.

Next, the American Legion Post 254 (Collinwood) was recognized for winning the state Adopt-A-Highway award during No Trash November 2024. Post 254 collected the most trash in the state in the Adopt-A-Highway program last year.

The solid waste situation in Wayne County was discussed next. Previous meetings and discussions have revealed that the county’s solid waste program, while breaking even financially at this time, will more than likely be insolvent within the next two years without immediate changes and/or an increase in revenue.

The Solid Waste Committee met on April 17, 2025, to discuss ideas for revamping the solid waste department. Different things were discussed at the meeting, including eliminating the recycling pickup route in Waynesboro and Collinwood; phasing out some of the 16 current convenience center mobile unit sites; cutting back on Saturday hours at the Waynesboro transfer station; phasing out the “free Saturdays” program at the transfer station; and making staff cuts at the facility. The pros and cons of each action were discussed, with the committee ultimately voting to make a recommendation to the full commission to adopt a resolution drawn up by Mike Stooksberry, who retired from CTAS and has been consulting with the county for quite some time about solid waste management. The resolution stated that any person or commercial company dumping more than three 40-gallon bags of trash at the transfer station per day would be charged a tipping fee of five cents per pound. This would seemingly affect only the commercial hauler RaeKar, the company that is contracted with each city in the county for trash pickup.

The resolution was presented to the full commission for approval at the April 21 meeting, but County Executive Mangubat said that County Attorney Andy Yarbrough had recommended that the decision about the resolution be postponed until the May commission meeting in order to give all commissioners more time to review it.

A Tennessee State Code was brought up next that surprised most of those in attendance at the meeting, including the commissioners. It was brought to the commission’s attention that according to the code, it is unlawful for cities in Tennessee to contract with anyone to take trash to a county facility. It seems that this particular code had never been complied with in Wayne County because no one knew it existed. Many had questions as to how the code had never been found or brought up at some point over the years the cities have had trash disposal contracts with commercial haulers. County Executive Mangubat stated that the county would most likely not be penalized for not complying with the code in years past due to lack of knowledge, but they must start complying with it now that they know it exists.

Representatives from RaeKar, Inc. were present at the meeting, and they were asked if the company had considered leasing and managing the county’s solid waste facility as discussed in the committee meeting. Tommy Legins, Vice President of Operations at RaeKar, stated that the company would be more than willing to help the county manage the facility but are not interested in leasing it. The age and poor condition of the facility were given as major reasons.

Solid Waste Director Robert Hayes next presented the annual APR statistics report the state requires to be submitted. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to approve the report, and Commissioner Butler seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Eliminating the “free days” of trash disposal at the solid waste facility were discussed next. Solid Waste Director Hayes said that eliminating the once-per-month Fridays and Saturdays of free dumping would save the county approximately $12,000 - $15,000 per year. The commissioners agreed that the “free days” are a major help to Wayne Countians who dump their own trash, and most do not want that convenience to be taken away. Commissioner Martin made a motion to leave the “free days” of disposal as they currently are. Commissioner Heard seconded the motion, and the motion passed on roll call vote with only Commissioner Kelley voting no.

Solid Waste Director Hayes confirmed that he and Assistant Director Lindsay Ross were still working on a report on the mobile convenience center trucks that will show how far Wayne Countians would have to drive to get to the Waynesboro transfer station if the mobile trucks were not available, and how many pounds are collected on average at each convenience center site. Solid Waste Committee Chairman Vickie Petty requested this report at the Solid Waste Committee meeting so that it may be reviewed to decide on which, if any, mobile truck locations may be eliminated.

Commissioner Colby McDonald asked the county’s financial advisor, Lori Brasher, if she was aware of any other counties that utilize property tax funds for their solid waste departments. Ms. Brasher said that it wasn’t standard for counties to do this, but it does happen on occasion. She confirmed that in 2024, over $883,000 from property taxes in Wayne County was budgeted to the solid waste department. That accounted for around 23 cents of the property tax in the county.

Commissioner Powers next asked some questions she said had been brought to her by her constituents. The first question was, why is Solid Waste Director Hayes provided with a pickup truck to drive? Hayes said that the truck was in his original contract when he took the job in 1991. Commissioner Powers went on to ask Hayes about his annual salary, which he confirmed to be $65,662. His salary comes from different funds within the county budget.

Commissioner Powers then asked about the manager-to-employee ratio at the solid waste facility. Solid Waste Assistant Director Lindsay Ross said that the current ratio is three managers and 13 non-managers, but each manager performs many of the duties required by other employees.

Commissioner Shull asked the RaeKar representatives present if they had determined yet how much of an increase they would implement for city garbage customers if a tipping fee is to be charged to them when they dump at the solid waste facility. Mr. Legins said that it would most likely be around an additional $10 per month.

Waynesboro City Manager John Hickman addressed the commission next, bringing up another Tennessee State Code that says a county may charge a commercial hauler a tipping fee to dump at a county facility. He questioned how this code seemingly contradicts the previously mentioned code regarding it being unlawful for contractors to dump city garbage at a county facility.

Next on the agenda, Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sockwell thanked the commission for the money from the Opioid Abatement Fund that was approved for use in drug recovery programs. He said that there are planned improvements to the recovery program in Wayne County.

Solid Waste Director Hayes addressed the commission again to request approval of a solid waste grant that will be used to purchase a new packer for the transfer station. The grant is for $220,000 and will fully fund the packer purchase. The grant has a 10% match, which means that the county will only have to pay $22,000 for the piece of equipment. Commissioner Creecy made a motion to approve the grant application, and Commissioner Kelley seconded. The motion carried on roll call vote with only Commissioners Tyler McDonald and Jeremy Heard voting no.

A new Hospital Board trustee appointment was next on the agenda. Commissioner Powers nominated Stan Bevis, and Commissioner Butler seconded the motion. Commissioner Creecy made a motion for nominations to cease and be elected by acclamation, and Commissioner Staggs seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Next was a new appointment to the Library Board. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to appoint Nina Shilodon to serve a three-year term on the Library Board, ending June 30, 2028. Commissioner Heard seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Debra Shaw from Voices of Savannah addressed the commission next. She spoke about the cost of enabling electric and utility service meters for a facility in Waynesboro and asked the commission for $2,800 to make the deposits needed. Commissioner Butler made a motion to approve up to $2,800 for the connection of the meters, and Commissioner Petty seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Wayne County JECDB Director Rena Purdy next addressed the commission, asking approval for the county to serve as a pass-through agent for an $80,000, zero-match grant for the Beech Creek Community Center and Fire Hall. Commissioner Colby McDonald made a motion to approve the grant, and Commissioner Butler seconded. The motion carried unanimously on roll call vote.

Director Purdy then asked for approval of a zero-match grant in the amount of $150,000 that will fund a 60’ x 120’ pavilion at the Wayne County Ag Center. Commissioner Mathis made a motion to approve the grant, and Commissioner Colby McDonald seconded. The motion carried unanimously on roll call vote.

Departmental reports were next on the agenda. Sheriff Shane Fisher first presented a list of surplus vehicles to the sold on govdeals.com. Commissioner Colby McDonald made a motion to approve the surplus items, and Commissioner Staggs seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Sheriff Fisher then gave a brief oral report on his department. He stated that the jail had just passed its most recent Tier 1 certification, and he informed the commission that new state-of-the-art body cams had recently been ordered for his deputies.

Highway Superintendent Chuck Moser reported on his department next, discussing the impact recent March and April storms had on county roads, culverts, and bridges. The most heavily damaged bridge in the county is on Second Creek, and was washed out at both ends. Moser said that the bridge would remain closed until a new one is installed. The cost of a new bridge is expected to be approximately $600,000.

Superintendent Moser then asked for Rock Hollow Road to be declared a county road. The post office requested that the county maintain the road in order to facilitate mail delivery. Commissioner Kelley made a motion to table the issue until the Highway Department is able to establish a turnaround area at the end of the road. Commissioner Powers seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Powers next asked Superintendent Moser how it is determined which county roads will get repaired and repaved. Moser said that there is usually very little money left in the budget each year to repair county roads and that state-aid roads usually come first.

Next was a brief discussion concerning the damage to county roads being caused by Amish farming tractors and equipment. No action was taken by the commission.

Lastly was a question about the new business that had previously shown interest in building a facility at the Wayne County Industrial Park. JECDB Director Purdy said that financing had fallen through for the site at Industrial Park, but the business owner is looking at another site in the county.

With no further business to come before the commission, Commissioner Kelley made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Colby McDonald seconded, and the meeting was adjourned.