Residents in Bay Minette say a plan to open a landfill and trash transfer center near a subdivision, homes and schools could drag down property values and create safety issues.

The Red Hill landfill has been closed for 30 years. The site, located off Red Hill Road, is less than two miles from two schools: Baldwin County High School and Bay Minette Middle School.

Under a proposal the Baldwin County Commission is considering, the old landfill would reopen for construction waste, and the county would also open a trash transfer station next to it.

More than 20 people spoke during a 90-minute public hearing at the commission meeting today, all of them in opposition to the plan. Residents expressed concerns about garbage truck traffic, a threat to safety and the potential for dragging down property values.

“There’s so many kids that ride bikes and stuff up and down this road,” said resident Calvin Phillips, a father of four. “I love my children … I will protect them by all means. We don’t need that traffic. We don’t need Bay Minette to be the armpit of Baldwin County.”

The county’s application to issue a permit for the landfill says the transfer station is “not anticipated to have a major impact on the amount of traffic or the traffic patterns in the facility area.”

“The proposed waste acceptance rate of 350 tons/day will result in approximately 20-30 trucks per day traveling to and from the transfer station,” the application states.

According to the EPA, “a transfer station is a facility where solid waste is unloaded from smaller trucks and reloaded into larger vehicles for transport to a final disposal site.”

Six counties would use the transfer station, and the county says the plan would help manage waste in response to growth in the area and reduce overhead costs.

Bay Minette resident Emily Ryan helped organize a petition against the plan that collected over 1,200 signatures, which she submitted to the commission. Ryan said she knew something was wrong when only five residents attended the first meeting about the plan, held in July.

“That should have been a red flag,” she told the commission. “The five of us did not believe we’re the only families that cared about our neighborhood, about our community, and as you can see, that’s proven true today.”

She said she’s concerned by seeing construction already occurring at the landfill site.

Other residents said they are concerned about more semi-truck traffic coming to the area, as there is already a precarious sharp turn near the Bay Minette Walmart.

“I’ve watched those trucks going into Walmart,” Robert Branum said. “They cannot navigate into and out of these businesses without utilizing the entire road.”

The Baldwin County Board of Education also opposes the plan. In a letter, the board asked the commission to “consider the long-term consequences” of approving the plan.

Sarah Young, the board’s general counsel, said in the letter that the board is concerned about the “potential for Baldwin County Solid Waste employees … to have access to school children when children are walking to or from school or participating in after-school activities near the campuses.”

Billie Jo Underwood, vice chairman of the commission, defended the county’s employees at today’s meeting, saying they “are worthy of not being treated like they are criminals.”

“You know what? Our employees are good employees,” Underwood said, adding that every county employee undergoes a background check.

The commission delayed voting on the plan from its Oct. 3 meeting to the Oct. 17 meeting to allow more time to research the matter.