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Highlands Today

Highlands' Asphalt Plant Is Drawing A Lot Of Interest

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Highlands Today Staff

Published: October 12, 2007

Plenty of eyes are watching a new project in Highlands County. Some are impressed and interested in seeing if the project is a success. Others want nothing more than to shut it down, and are possibly going to ask state lawmakers to do something about it. The county's new asphalt plant is drawing a lot of reaction. We hope the project is successful and saves taxpayers as much money as possible.

Ken Wheeler, the county's solid waste director, pitched the idea to county commissioners some time ago. He said the county could produce its own asphalt for road repairs much cheaper than commercial companies. That means more roads are repaired for the same amount of money.

Counties around Florida took great interest in Highlands County's newest venture. Some will buy the less expensive asphalt, while others might begin a similar project in their own county.

Asphalt companies argued against the county going into commercial business against them, and we understand their argument about government edging out private companies that provide jobs and add to the economy.

Most recently, rumors are floating around that the asphalt industry is planning to ask legislators to ban such enterprises. We don't know if that's true, but it wouldn't surprise us if asphalt companies fought to keep this operation out of local governments' hands.

We share the same concern about government opening up enterprises that compete with private business, but this is an area where there should be an exception. The special aggregate necessary for asphalt is found here, and the landfill processes gases that naturally occur to help fire the plant.

Besides, no one consumes more asphalt than government entities trying to maintain roads. If there's a huge cost savings to taxpayers, it's hard to argue with that. Then again, this is a relatively new idea in Florida. A few similar operations have started in other states, but here it's a rarity. That's why so many people are watching what's going on.

Highlands County will either look really good if it's a success or really bad if it's a failure. We're hoping for success.

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