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Two more concerned Cusseta residents spoke about the proposed quarry during the Chambers County Commission meeting on Monday night. Alice Pitts and Burt Harris are both generations-long Cusseta natives and addressed many of the same concerns that other residents have named.

Pitts addressed the commissioners with a series of questions for the commission and the quarry owners on Monday night.

Pitts said the community’s frustration has grown as they feel their concerns have not been addressed or considered. After much research by the community, she posed the following questions that she hopes the commissioners can find answers to:

“One, since the current project is projected to be facing Chambers County, what would the county benefit financially from this project? The permit has 4% to the state and 1% to the county. How much is projected each year?

“Two, how many times will the quarry blast dynamite in a day or week? Will there be a time frame during the day that this will be allowed? Will there be any restrictions?

“Three, who are the people our community can go to for answers when there is a problem with our water, air, loss of livelihood, loss of land value? Is there or will there be a contact person? Where and who does the buck stop with?

“Four, when we have problems, what time frame can we expect to get a response?”

Pitts said that she has sat through many meetings where “citizens have openly poured out their hearts and concerns about the quarry,” sharing their research on the negative impacts that a quarry can have on the surrounding area.

She asked the commissioners if they will be sharing communications that they have with ADEM, the landowner or the quarry.

She also asked if the county’s roads are equipped to handle the type of truck traffic that a quarry will bring.

“Will the tax generated from the quarry paid to Chambers County be earmarked for the county roads of Cusseta like 293 and 97 to be maintained?” Pitts asked.

Other questions were about what benefits a quarry would bring other than tax collection.

“Finally, if the quarry is such a great idea, why have so many communities fought to keep them out?” Pitts asked last.

Like many of the other residents who have spoken, Pitts and Harris asked the commissioners to represent the Cusseta community in their united disapproval of the potential quarry.

“We in Chambers County voted for you,” Pitts said. “You were elected to make good decisions for the whole community, not just for you to benefit. The only ones benefiting from the quarry are the landowners, the quarry and their supplier.”

Pitts posed her final question to the commissioners, “Knowing how our community feels about the quarry, if Chambers County is presented with a business permit application from the quarry, will you deny the permit, or will you issue permit?

“Please let us have a say about what is best for a local community. Don’t sell us out on a promise from a few people that are only looking to benefit monetarily from this project,” she said.