Drab, dreary and at times odoriferous, the regional waste authority's two plants in Portsmouth have offended the senses of many residents in the nearby Cradock community. Between the noises, sights and smells, people living there - as well as motorists crossing the Jordan Bridge - try not to linger too long in the area.
Fortunately, after a series of conversations and meetings over the past two years between authority staff and residents, the area around the plants should get an overdue makeover. The results could be a better-looking, less-offensive neighbor for Portsmouth residents, according to an article by The Pilot's Scott Harper.
Officials at the Southeastern Public Service Authority and members of a Citizens Advisory Committee deserve credit for working through concerns. The area houses a large facility that accepts and sorts hundreds of tons of garbage a day; a power plant that burns garbage and converts the wastes to steam and electricity; and conveyor belts connecting the two buildings.
Some $250,000 could be spent in sprucing up the area, including removing old soil and planting native trees and shrubs. That should help screen the facilities from nearby homes. A SPSA official also suggested that, at the very least, the buildings could be power washed. The moves could help SPSA, which is facing $240 million in old debts and is trying to sell the power plant. That plant needs $10 million in improvements next year.
For Cradock, it's yet another nugget of positive news about the community.
Following stepped-up law enforcement patrols and a reinvigorated neighborhood watch, Cradock had 45 percent fewer crimes in the first five months of 2008 compared with the same time period in 2007. Residents protested the possible closing of their library. And last year they successfully fought, along with residents of the Brentwood community in Chesapeake, a proposed ethanol plant on a 97-acre tract next to the St. Juliens Creek Annex.
It all suggests that something's happening - for the better - in Cradock.
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It is going to get better
It is about time that something is done about the plant next door to Cradock. The smell is awful and on weekends many times you see smoke pouring out of the stacks. Yes things are moving in the right direction for Cradock and I know that with a vibrate neighborhood watch and civic league that things are going to be better. However did anyone notice the possible sale of the plant to someone else that was listed in yesterdays paper (07-01-08). Hopefully the citizens of Cradock will take notice of this as well.
Good point, Elsie!
I'd also like to know who's going to come out and power-wash my house. We have a constant sifting of debris and fall-out from the SPSA plant. The houses in Cradock have a definite gray tinge from the plant's inept incinerator. We have to rinse our cars daily. Perhaps the cleanup can have a Phase 2 which includes powerwashing all houses witin a mile radius of the plant.
Sounds great, but when?
Sounds lovely. What is the timeframe or is this a pie in the sky promise like the Cradock Revitalization plan we worked so hard on a couple of years ago...and have yet to see any action on?