[KHTS] – The Castaic Area Town Council voted 6-4 this week to accept funds from Chiquita Canyon Landfill in exchange for their support of the expansion of the dump once the final environmental documents are released.

SEE COMPLETE DRAFT CONTRACT BELOW

The landfill has yet to reach a deal with residents of Val Verde, which is where the dump is located.

Nearly 50 people, the majority from the Val Verde, attended Wednesday’s Town Council meeting, said Erica Larsen, a Val Verde resident and member of the Citizens for Chiquita Canyon Landfill Compliance.

The speakers from Val Verde were opposed to the agreement that was on the table, she said.

The public comment period ends Oct. 23 for the environmental report on the project’s expansion. The county extended the deadline for 30 days at the request of community members and several groups including the Santa Clarita City Council.

A key part of the financial arrangement gives 80 cents per ton – based on annual disposal amounts – to the Castaic and Val Verde communities, said John Musella, spokesman for the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

“(The CATC) agreed to split the funds with 70 percent to Val Verde and 30 percent to Castaic,” he said. “Basically, what that means is in the first year, Castaic would receive approximately $240,000 (according to 2013 tonnage), and Val Verde is set to receive $560,000.”

The landfill is negotiating with two groups, the Town Council and the Val Verde Community Advisory Committee. The VVCAC has yet to agree to terms, Musella said.

The amount of money has the ability to go up, as Chiquita Canyon’s expansion calls for an increase in the daily tonnage the landfill would receive. The deal would go on for the length of the landfill’s operation.

Musella said that could be in approximately 21 years and, if approved, this would be the last expansion for the landfill.

The Castaic agreement was voted upon Wednesday night and while the Val Verde residents attended the meeting and voiced their concerns against the landfill, the Val Verde community Advisory Committee have not finalized their agreement yet, Musella said.

Some residents who were upset with the terms complained of “loopholes” that they said negated guarantees to the communities, and Castaic resident Lloyd Carder said the deal seemed like “hush money” to “keep the council quiet.”

The money is planned to go to a new nonprofit organization, the Chiquita Canyon – Castaic Community Benefit Fund, Musella said. It will not go directly to the council.

“This is a great opportunity for the community of Castaic,” Musella said. “These funds will be available to support the schools, youth programs and the local community in general. It’s not often a local business is able to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to a local community.”

Musella said the deals have been part of a yearlong negotiation, but some area residents felt the process was being rushed.

“It was kind of sad. People were talking about how the council members should not vote, that they should get legal advice and postpone the vote and (the council members) just voted on it,” Larsen said. “So it was kind of hard to watch that it just got pushed through so fast.”