There are thousands of tires on an abandoned property off Slater road in Coryell County. Just how many remains up for debate.
While riding a tractor near an outlying group of tires it became clear that getting an accurate number would require bulldozing the surrounding area while wearing protection to ward off the legion of mosquitos that now call it home.
Channel 6 News has received estimates between 300,000 and 700,00 regarding the number tires actually on the property. The price to clean the mess up is even more complicated.
Normally tires are disposed off by shredding. Nationwide company Liberty Tire Recycling told us they had been asked about doing the job 10 times in the last four years but never provided a bid. The problem with providing a price is twofold:
First, it costs more to grind large tractor tires than it does car tires. Not knowing how much of each, it is impossible for a tire shredding company to give a precise estimate. The cost would also increase if the tires were contaminated or still on the rim.
Second, Liberty tire said they could only handle a job of this size at their largest Texas recycling facility in Houston. They could not, however, handle the job of unearthing the tires and transporting them.
The job of finding the right company, or group of companies, to clean the property falls to the Texas Veterans Land Board. The board inherited the mess after the owner defaulted. When the board put out a RFP in 2015 they received bids ranging from $6 million to $1.3 Million. After the lowest bidder dropped out, however, the board did not select another.
Instead the Texas Land Board tired to sell the property and have the buyer clean it according to state regulations. However, after a year, no one has come forward with an acceptable proposal to clean it up.
Local homeowners said there is no way the 40-plus acres will sell, considering the millions of dollars it would take to clean up. Coryell County resident Kevin Wiley said not even a business would want the property at that cost.
“I don’t think they would pay that kind of money to come out and put a Walmart here,” Wiley said. “Not that I want them to, but the numbers just are not right. 40 acres for 2-3 million dollars?”
Now the Texas Veterans Land Board will consider creating several new RFPs that could split the cleanup job between multiple companies. The board said it would send the new RFPs out in the next six months.