Alachua County leaders voted Tuesday to spend $2.6 million to begin building the first phase of a “resource recovery park” — meant to become a hub for companies that pluck materials such as plastic or glass and convert them into usable products.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to accept the bid from V.W. Whitehurst & Sons to build the first phase of the two-phase project. Commissioner Ken Cornell dissented, objecting to the timing.
The state Legislature several years ago passed a bill mandating that counties achieve 75 percent waste recycling by 2020, reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting waste and promote waste industries at recovery parks to make useful products from recycled materials.
Alachua County, a leader in recycling statewide, has a 54 percent recycling rate, according to University of Florida Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences’ officials. But county officials have long hoped that building an area to encourage businesses designed around the waste stream would help boost the county closer to the 75 percent mandate.
The project’s first phase will begin soon after the contract with Whitehurst is signed, and is estimated to take eight months to complete, county officials say. It will include the installation of basic infrastructure like data and utility hookups, water and sewer management systems and amenities like stormwater systems and the first phase of the road network.
Phase two is still in the engineering phase, and will bring warehouse space for sorting bulk materials for reuse and resale, office space and space for incubators that use solid waste resources for research and development, county officials say.
Preliminary estimates for the completion of phase two is approximately $3 million, said Sean McLendon, county strategics initiatives manager, emphasizing that’s a very premature and preliminary estimate.
County officials are actively seeking public and private partnerships to fund the project, especially phase 2, interim County Manager Michele Lieberman said.
The county has unsuccessfully sought state and federal funding for the project for almost a decade, and since shifting its focus from recycling to economic development, the quest seems to have gotten more traction, Lieberman said.
The overwhelming consensus among commissioners was that the project is worthwhile. Commissioner Chuck Chestnut said the project reminded him of the city of Gainesville’s handling of the building of the industrial park next to Gainesville Regional Airport.
At least three waste recovery and recycling companies have visited the county, and one has received a qualified target industry designation, which allows it to receive tax incentives if it decides to open a location in Alachua County, said Edgar Campa-Palafox, director of economic development.
To read the full story, visit http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180424/county-votes-for-resource-recovery-park.