Halifax County has crunched its numbers on a solid waste transfer station and has toured one in Franklin County.

Now it waits to see if it can afford to build one and must look at other options, County Manager Tony Brown said today.

The decision will depend on the financing cost versus how much the county can spend from its public utilities fund. Brown declined to discuss financing options but did say later in a telephone interview it would probably take $1 million to start one up.

Brown was impressed with the Franklin County transfer station. “There was no smell. It was on a mild day. It was very clean. When the garbage truck brought something in it was immediately put into a trailer.”

The county is exploring a transfer station to have options should it decide to end its contract with Waste Industries. “If it’s not cost effective, if Waste Industries can do it for a better cost.”

Another thing the county must decide is where to build one should commissioners decide to do so.

While the landfill is the most logical choice, it is too far in the western part of the county for those in the eastern part to travel to, Brown said. “Some further out may not choose to use it.”

The county has not had discussions with the Local Government Commission, Brown said. The county has talked to Roanoke Rapids, which is also considering building a transfer station. “We still have to get through all the preliminaries.”

Brown said the county is open to discussing the matter with Roanoke Rapids. “We’re exploring all our options. We’re trying to come up with something economical that will be a fit for all the county.”

He said further discussion of the transfer station will most likely be done in budget work sessions. “It won’t be Monday,” Brown said, referring to this Monday when the commissioners meet.