“Tire-recycling reforms may need to be revisited,” Nov. 2 editorial.
We recognize the problems surrounding the disposal and recycling of waste tires in the Colorado. FGH Financial became the current owner of the site through foreclosure.
FGH Financial is a lender. We are a secured creditor on this project. We filed for foreclosure in May 2010, and 18 months after the default, the public sale was held in September 2011. For more than 18 months, FGH allowed Magnum d’Or Resources the opportunity to restructure its finances or sell the property to interested parties. When Magnum failed to do that, FGH foreclosed.
We have been in frequent communication over the last six months with the state and county, notifying them of the impending foreclosure and have kept them informed since the foreclosure. The site is now secured 24 hours a day, and we have maintained all insurances.
Our immediate concern is that the project is safely managed until we can find an experienced and reputable tire recycling company to purchase and operate the site. We have no intention of operating a tire landfill as an ongoing business.
For the short term, we have engaged a company that is a registered tire hauler in good standing with the state of Colorado to manage and operate the site. After the company obtains all necessary approvals and permits, the site will be reopened, thereby providing a facility for the proper disposal and recycling of waste tires.
There is currently no Tire Mountain in Hudson. In spite of its recent problems, the landfill has an orderly system in place of receiving tires, shredding them and storing them in organized cells for future recycling uses – including tire-derived fuel, civil engineering applications and alternative daily cover for other municipal solid waste landfills. The cells minimize the potential for a possible hazard.
For the last 40 years, the Hudson site has served a beneficial function for the state, despite the last few years of mismanagement. We predict it will do so once again with a permanent and qualified operator who will manage the site in a lawful and responsible way.
Steve Gittelman is a principal in FGH Financial.
