Not only are Halifax County citizens watching the solid waste transfer station debate in Roanoke Rapids, municipal governments are watching, too.

Weldon Mayor Julia Meacham told Roanoke Rapids City Council Wednesday night she did not think a transfer station was the best use for two pieces of property in the Becker Farms Industrial Park where two pieces of land the city is looking at is located.

“We’re a fairly new board,” Meacham said. “We’re cleaning up, trying to improve the area.”

Meacham said the land the city is looking at is suited for industrial or manufacturing uses. “A transfer station does not fit in this area. Halifax Community College, which is a great asset, is just a short distance away. Speaking as mayor, I would appreciate it if you would reconsider these areas.”

Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman James Pierce attended the public hearing but did not speak.

The county is also studying whether to build a transfer station, he said after the hearing. “We’re still studying and looking at our options.”

Those options include a possible partnership with Roanoke Rapids.

Where Roanoke Rapids is looking at building a transfer station as a revenue source, Pierce said the county’s goal is different. “All we want to do is get the best deal we can get. We’re not looking to make money, we’re looking at making it a self-sustaining entity.”

The county still has three years left on its current solid waste contract, Pierce said.

Roanoke Rapids resident Jack Moore was the first to speak during the public hearing. He questioned council on costs of the facility, including employees, equipment and insurance.

He also asked how many days the transfer station would hold trash during inclement weather.

Moore accused the council of being like the past panel which approved the former Randy Parton Theatre. “Y’all are starting out like that other crowd did. The only difference in this council and the other council is the names are different.”

Dwayne Patrick, who lives near another site the city is considering on Highway 158 near the old Harley-Davidson dealership, questioned whether the city would buy the entire 50 acres or just what it needed.

Patrick said trash trucks already leave a mess on Airport Road. “I’ve been picking up trash since they put dumpsters out there. Is the city going to clean up the site?”

He said people who live near the proposed site won’t benefit from it. “People who live around it are really in a rural area and have nothing to gain. The revenues you generate here doesn’t help me with my taxes. What will we have to look forward to other than smell and a big mess?”

Winston Leonard, who lives near the Deep Creek Road proposed site, where the city had an old landfill, said he is opposed to it being located there. “I oppose it because of the way the landfill operated the last time. There was no public hearing whatsoever. When the landfill closed down the seagulls flew east.”