PINEVLLE — Members of Bell County’s 109 Board are making preparations for a recycling center to open in Middlesboro. Equipment for the center is being paid for by a grant the 109 Board received last year.

Board Chairman Kirby Smith said the center could be built very quickly and would likely open in the fall. The Board said that the reason they’re locating it in Middlesboro is because of the population density.

The 109 Board accepted a letter from the City of Middlesboro that agreed to let the center be built on the Street Department property on 15th Street.

The letter states that the City and the Board “desire to enter into a mutually beneficial agreement in an effort to better serve the citizens of Middlesboro, Kentucky and Bell County, Kentucky.” The parties also agreed that if recycling should cease, the building would “become the City’s property in full.” The Board decided that the agreement would be subject to more elaboration in the future, regarding liability issues and other matters.

Equipment has already started to arrive for the building. The bailer — which weighs over 700 pounds and is 13 feet long — was shipped Tuesday. The machine will compact the recycling material so it can be sold at market. All the equipment has been ordered and should arrive soon.

Smith said he’d already gotten a pricing quote from Christian Construction on the designs for the recycling center. The Board would hire a full-time employee for the center and likely use inmate labor to separate the materials.

Smith said that while there would be some added expense with the recycling center as they wait out fluctuating markets, it was going to be worth it.

“Recycling is not free,” said Smith. “It’s not going to be something that will be [cheap].”

But Smith said the benefits will outweigh the cost.

“It’s going to keep stuff out of the land fill and it’s going to improve the environment,” said Smith.

The Board approved the financial report and the enforcement report for June 2009.

Stephen Woodward is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. He may be contacted at swoodward@middlesborodailynews.com.