OKLAHOMA CITY — A proposed new medical waste transfer facility on Oklahoma City’s Eastside saw its request for a statement of support by the City Council denied Tuesday in a rare unanimous vote.
The company behind the proposed facility, Arkansas-based Medical Waste Services LLC, has been seeking a statement of confidence in the facility’s environmental safety through representatives Terracon Consultants Inc., first from the City Council in June of last year, then from the Parks Commission last month.
In June, City Council deferred the item from the consent docket, telling Terracon and Medical Waste Services to instead follow the standard procedure of applying for the required rezoning rather than seeking environmental approval first.
In December, a similar request for a statement of support came before the Parks Commission, who denied the request after an outpouring of resident opposition.
Residents turned out once again on Tuesday morning to voice their strong opposition both to this proposal and to the continuing trend of what they see as problematic, value-damaging development across the predominantly-Black Eastside.
City council concerns
The facility’s proposed location at 3903 NE 23rd St falls into OKC’s Ward 7, and before opening the floor to city residents for public comments, Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice expressed dismay at the continuing issue and confusion about why it was returning to the City Council agenda at all.
“I think it’s quite interesting that this item appears as an item for separate vote,” she said. “When this came before us in June, it was part of the consent docket. So I’m quite confused why now we’re showing favoritism by putting it outside of the consent docket.”
Following the vote, City Manager Craig Freeman responded to Nice’s comments by explaining that it was included as a separate item on the agenda because the request was (uniquely and unusually) submitted with two “choices,” asking council to either deny the request or to agree to a resolution showing support.
Mayor David Holt commented on the unusual nature of the agenda item’s format himself when introducing it, calling the item “somewhat different.”
Park proximity and waste worries
Every city resident that spoke during the item’s public comment period stood firmly in opposition to the proposed facility.
As the facility would fall just outside the limits of the incorporated town of Forest Park within OKC, the perceived health and safety concerns would primarily affect Forest Park residents, with particular concern paid to Diggs Park just across 23rd Street from the proposed location. The park is frequented by area children and houses the Garden-Diggs Head Start Center.
Residents have repeatedly raised the concern that the facility could see the regular transfer of syringes and the potential dangers that could pose for children in the nearby park.
Neighborhood leaders say that questions about what kind of medical waste would be transferred at the site have not been answered to their satisfaction.
Citizen opposition
Forest Park Mayor George Smith was the first to speak before the Council on the matter.
“The south side of Forest Park is undeveloped land, and we’re hoping to develop that into some more luxury homes,” Smith said. “To have that business there that would be adjacent to and contiguous to Forest Park could probably diminish the property taxes and the property values.”
Gary Woods, who serves on the Ward 7 Board of Park Commissioners that fielded the December request from Terracon and Medical Waste Services, spoke about that commission’s decision, which was also unanimous.
“The Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously that this medical waste facility would cause harm to the park there, Diggs Park,” Woods said. “There wasn’t a single parks commissioner who thought that this medical waste facility being in such close proximity to Diggs Park would be a good thing.”
Woods provided a list of concerning health and wellness statistics of the area – including the heightened cancer and autoimmune disease rates – and spoke of the “cumulative effect” that a waste transfer facility could have.
“If we add the medical waste facility to that,” he said, “we’re thinking about heavy trucks, we’re thinking about diesel emissions, as well as it being in close proximity to children.”
Oklahoma State Representative Jason Lowe (D-District 97) spoke unequivocally about the ramifications he believes this facility could have on the surrounding community.
“Approving this facility in Forest Park would totally destroy Forest Park,” he said. “Please deny this request. Do not destroy this community.”
Unanimous denial
The council’s unanimous vote to deny the request drew a round of applause from the attending residents as well as a statement of thanks from Councilwoman Nice.
“This is what democracy looks like,” she said to the gathered city residents, “for us to all be at the table and express our opinion.”
Free Press sought comment from a representative from Terracon Consultants who responded that Terracon is only “helping our client with permitting,” and directed us to contact who they say is the primary client for this proposal, Medical Waste Services Co-CEO Justin Methvin.
Methvin gave no response when we attempted contact directly through email, the only contact method given to us.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
