The Waco City Council approved the purchase of the new landfill site at the special meeting on Tuesday.
According to the city council agenda, they are set to authorize a purchase of a 502-acre land located near the intersection of State Highway 31 and T.K. Parkway. City officials plan to purchase the site for $1.8 million.
People in Axtell piled inside the high school gym on Sunday night to share their frustrations over the plan.
During the meeting, they discussed how they'll take action against the City of Waco to prevent the landfill from coming to their area.
D.L. Wilson, who's running for McLennan County Commission for Precinct 2, shared his thoughts during the meeting.
"People that I thought I knew have lied to me, lied to my face about this," Wilson said. "It hurts me because I'm a transparent guy, integrity means a lot to me."
Wilson said that the process to create a landfill site would take three to seven years, but they need to stand up now for their city now.
"We don't want this here, we don't want it in Precinct 2," Wilson said.
"With us being a small community of 400, maybe 500 people now, they're just taking the path of least resistance and basically saying that there are not enough people in this town to make a difference, that they can walk over us as a community. That's not going to happen," said Dustin Matus, who attended the meeting.
Axtell ISD Superintendent Dr. JR Proctor is also concerned that the landfill will put student safety at risk.
"Transportation for our students depends on the road they're talking about putting the landfill on," Proctor said. "It's a dangerous road already."
Many residents now feel deceived by the City of Waco since they first found out about the plan through the city council agendathat was posted last Friday.
"I mean that's the biggest problem, there's a lack of credibility right out of the gate," Fred Swaner, who's lived in Axtell for 41 years, said. "If they can't be honest and upfront today, why do you believe anybody later?"
Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver said they went public with this information as soon as they could. He also said this was the best option for the people of McLennan County.
"It's a regional landfill, this region must have a landfill," Mayor Deaver said. "This was really the closest proximity to Waco that we could find, a site that had good access to roadways and that had the geology and the topography that we need."
Amy Gordon is one week away from opening "Beauty N Grace Studio" in Axtell, but she's feeling uneasy about it after hearing about the possible landfill coming to town.
"My husband and I have poured everything we have into building this dance studio and to find out a landfill could be 2.8 miles from here is very disturbing," Gordon said.
Mayor Deaver said they are open to hearing questions, comments and concerns from the people of Axtell.
"We certainly want to hear what they have to say, we know they have concerns and we will work to address those concerns as we go through this process," Mayor Deaver said.
Gordon, along with plenty of other residents, plan to make their voices heard at the meeting on Tuesday.
"It is extremely important that we show up," Gordon said. "We want to keep them up all night."
Mayor Deaver said if the purchase is approved, the city will then begin the permit process that should take at least three years.
A spokesperson for the City of Waco said the following in a statement:
"The City of Waco considers the residents of eastern McLennan County as its neighbors. Recent evidence of this is that Waco has offered some of its water (up to 2 million gallons each day) to help resolve the area’s arsenic issue in its water supply. Likewise, our goal will be to work with elected officials and residents of the area near the intersection of State Highway 31 and TK Parkway throughout this process."
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