The Joint Forces Training Base composting program is gone for good.
“The California National Guard is exercising the cancellation clause contained within the Memorandum of Agreement authorizing the pilot composting program on the facility,” said a Monday, March 29 press release from the National Guard.
The statement was apparently a reference to the Business License Agreement with Agromin, a private sector contractor hired to carry out the pilot composting program at the Joint Forces Training Base. The program was apparently intended to reduce waste and generate revenue for the base.
“The California National Guard is committed to ensuring the success at JFTB Los Alamitos, while weighing the balance between the needs of the community and our desire to move forward with environmental projects,” said Brig. Gen. Louis Antonetti, commander of the California Army National Guard. “The California National Guard will continue to explore new ways to remain an environmentally friendly, advanced military training facility, while being a good neighbor to the surrounding cities.”
“Thank God,” said Patti Campbell, a resident of College Park East in Seal Beach.
“It has been incredibly obnoxious to the people around here,” she said, referring to the smell generated by the compost.
“Our biggest concern was that it was on hold,” Campbell said.
She wasn’t the only College Park East resident delighted by the news that the project was cancelled.
“The military cannot go against what the majority of communities surrounding it didn’t want. It’s not just what Seal Beach wished for, but Cypress, Garden Grove and even Los Alamitos were in disagreement with the project after perusing the site,” said Enea Ostrich, a College Park East resident.
“Unfortunately, (Brig.) Gen. (James) Combs and his constituents didn’t do all their homework, and when word got out in public on this, the council of each city had to comply with what the majority of people wanted. I am glad that there is no more project—amen to that,” Ostrich said.
Combs was commander of the base when the project began. He has retired and no longer lives in the area.
“We are delighted with the decision of the California National Guard,” said Los Alamitos Mayor Marilynn Poe in a joint press release issued by communities surrounding the base. “We have been working together with our neighbors on this issue for months and were successful in developing a policy that was articulated with one voice. This is exactly the outcome we were seeking.”
Seal Beach Mayor David Sloan said the cancellation would be good for the community. “Well, it’s really fortunate for the city of Seal Beach and the surrounding communities,” Sloan said.
Seal Beach District 4 City Councilman Gary Miller was also pleased. Both Campbell and Miller had opposed to the project since they first learned about it. Miller told the Sun Newspapers he first heard about the composting project on May 6, 2009.
“I am, and I’m sure the residents of District 4 are, pleased that the National Guard cancelled the project,” Miller said.
“It’s been a group effort,” Miller said, citing the work of officials in other communities, including Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, Cypress and Garden Grove.
Campbell echoed his sentiments, thanking all the Seal Beach councilmen, the Los Alamitos City Council and the managers of the other communities that bordered the military base. Campbell specifically cited Cypress City Manager John Bahorski, former Seal Beach city manager, for his work.
“Well, I’m glad it’s over,” Miller said.
Communities neighboring the base were never happy about the project.
For example, on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2009, officials representing five local communities asked the Secretary of the Army to cancel the contract for the JFTB.
This letter came just weeks after Maj. Gen. John Harrel, who was the JFTB commander at the time, announced the composting project was being put on hold. The decision became public in early October 2009 and was apparently made in response to complaints from all five neighboring communities about the stench coming from the composting project.
After the project was suspended, Miller, of District 4, expressed concern that the project had only been suspended, not cancelled.
Campbell, of the College Park East Neighborhood Association, raised the same concern at Seal Beach council a meeting shortly after the project was put on hold.
College Park East residents had opposed the composting project long before Maj. Gen Harrel announced its suspension.
The residents came out in force to question and criticize the project at the Monday, May 11 Seal Beach City Council meeting. Residents were worried about trucks using Lampson Avenue to deliver the “green waste” to a composting site north of Arbor Park.
Residents were worried about both traffic safety and the environmental impact of the trucking activity
In addition to all the other complains about the project, residents objected to the lack of prior public notice about the project.
On June 8, 2009, the City Council approved banning three-ton trucks from Lampson Avenue. At the time, City Attorney Quinn Barrow said the June 8 resolution did not change the city law. The municipal code identifies only four streets as truck routes.
“Those trucks have never been allowed on Lampson,” Barrow said.
The next major development in the story came when the project was suspended by Maj. Gen. Harrel, who succeeded Brig. Gen. Combs as commander of the JFTB.
The base is now commanded by Brig. Gen. Keith Jones.
