Residents express concerns at public safety meeting

The owner and residents of the mobile home park on North Carlisle Street shared their concerns about Industrial Pallet during the Greencastle Public Safety Committee meeting Wednesday afternoon. They were invited to the meeting by Chairman James Farley earlier this month after worries about the pallet recycler — which buys, repairs and resells pallets — came to light during a rezoning hearing. Because the area was zoned for industrial use, Industrial Pallet is permitted and there is little Greencastle Borough Council can do other than bring the neighbors and Industrial Pallet together to find ways to abate problems. Plant Manager David Leon was on hand to hear residents' concerns and encouraged them to communicate with him. Scott Reagan, who owns the 36-mobile home village, gave a PowerPoint presentation with a slide for each concern: smoking, instability of stacked pallets, dust, noise and trash. After he talked to Leon earlier about trash, it was cleaned up within three days, but Reagan said an agreement to reduce noise by not opening doors before 9 a.m. did not last long. "I'm not looking to go to war with anyone," said Reagan, who also lives in a home on North Carlisle Street. He wants to restore the quality of life for himself and his tenants while allowing Industrial Pallet to stay in operation. Carla Johnson spoke on behalf of her mother Gladys Griffith, who has health problems that seem to have started around the time Industrial Pallet came to town."I can smell the wood shavings as soon as I get out of my car," she said. "My main concern is dirt and dust. If the smell bothers me, what's it doing to people around it?" Ted Shives held up dirty furnace filters less than three months old. "I'm breathing that," Shives said. "We always hear 'we'll have someone look into it.'" "You help us, we'll help you. Just don't make false promises," said Charles Fazenbaker. "This is my first meeting," said Leon, who has worked in Greencastle for about a year. "Communicate with me so we can see what we can do better." He told the residents they need to let him know when there are problems so he can try to correct them. Farley encouraged one or two residents to act as go-betweens with Industrial Pallet on a regular basis. Shives and Fazenbaker indicated they would be willing to do that.