Lumberyard

[warreng88]

Hope the Mill doesn't became a hindrance to future development in that area; especially the Bricktown Towers.

The smell from the Producers Cooperative Oil Mill reminds me of the Stockyards; the odor was similar to when they burned the hides. Now the bulk of those operations have been moved to the expanded El Reno Stockyards.

It took years to move a division of the city's old waste sanitation plant (Eastside, I-40 Fort Smith Junction) to Jones, OK.



It will be expensive to move the mill.

The Producers Cooperative Oil Mill completed a $3 million expansion (Canola, Sunflowerseed) in October 2008.

Producers Cooperative Oil Mill Expands to Process Canola, Sunflowerseed

Both Steve and Pete have stated that the property will not sell for the asking price or anywhere near it. Either the owners will have to come down on the asking price or the city will have to take it as imminent domain and I don't see the latter happening anytime soon since there is no reason for it to be taken. Now, if only a large building built for the city could go in that area.... Hmmmmm...

[soondoc]

What about a smell ordinance by the people of OKC that no longer will accept this. Heck, it could even be hazzardous to those with asthma and other respiratory issues. Something like that could force the place to move to an area that isn't in the proximity of so many people. It would give them an ulimatum to sell now for fair price or risk lawsuits and eminent domain do to issues which I just mentioned.

[OKCRT]

They need to bulldoze that place. Move that out to the country where no one is bothered by that wretched stink. People talk about the horrible smell all the time.

[Snowman]

They need to bulldoze that place. Move that out to the country where no one is bothered by that wretched stink. People talk about the horrible smell all the time.

While I agree it eventually needs to be moved, there are going to be people unhappy having it within a few miles of their backyard no matter where it is

[Snowman]

The smell really seems to be getting worse. I live in the Deep Deuce area and instead of spending time outside on the balcony enjoying the nice weather, we were forced to make a regrettable odor-related retreat on Saturday night (and it wasn't much better on Sunday). I know we'll get a respite when the winds shift to a more wintertime-predominant-northerly type of situation, but still...

I think only the frequency of days it smells has had any change recently, I am guessing that is seasonal, unless some other plant shut down and they are now support a larger region of growers. After that it is just your luck on which way the wind is blowing that day.

[kevinpate]

Sorry to be contrary, but buying into housing near a long existing industrial plant with regularly emanating odors and complaining about the smell is more than a bit like buying across from the entrance to a hospital emergency room or big firehouse and complaining about the noise and the flashing lights.

No one slipped in under cover of darkness and created this place upwind from unsuspecting residential development, or retail and sporting venues. Saying it needs to be forced to relocate doesn't seem appropriate at all.

[jccouger]

Sorry to be contrary, but buying into housing near a long existing industrial plant with regularly emanating odors and complaining about the smell is more than a bit like buying across from the entrance to a hospital emergency room or big firehouse and complaining about the noise and the flashing lights.

No one slipped in under cover of darkness and created this place upwind from unsuspecting residential development, or retail and sporting venues. Saying it needs to be forced to relocate doesn't seem appropriate at all.

Recently there was a class action lawsuit brought against the city dump for the odors that were eminating from the trash (I'm not sure of what the outcome was, or if it even actually went to court). But you'd think that if a city owned dump can be held responsible for smells which ruin quality of life and property values then so could a business.

If people from local businesses in bricktown and residences in midtown/deep duece come together I believe they could force the sell of this property or force a drastic change in their business practices.

[bombermwc]

That's not the whole story jccougar. The issue with the dump was with things that were there BEFORE the dump was started and most definitely before they expanded it by so much. There were promises made to the surrounding community that steps would be made to contain the smell and the litter, and those promises were not upheld. It's not quite the same as a someone that makes the complaint if they built their house there AFTER the dump had been built.

[bchris02]

Given the amount of investment, both public and private currently pouring into downtown OKC, I think the city would be completely justified in passing a smell ordinance. Yes the Co-op is an OKC fixture, part of history, and provides jobs but it becomes a quality of life issue when the smell is so strong you can't enjoy a nice summer evening on the balcony of your million dollar townhome in Deep Deuce. I am not saying they should be forced to relocate but they should at least contain the smell.

[BDP]

Sorry to be contrary, but buying into housing near a long existing industrial plant with regularly emanating odors and complaining about the smell is more than a bit like buying across from the entrance to a hospital emergency room or big firehouse and complaining about the noise and the flashing lights.

No one slipped in under cover of darkness and created this place upwind from unsuspecting residential development, or retail and sporting venues. Saying it needs to be forced to relocate doesn't seem appropriate at all.

Yes, but things change. I think the biggest concern is that the smell pollutes an area that has become the hospitality center for the city, and possibly the state. Prospective businesses and employees, as well as tourists, are likely to stay and /or play in the area when visiting the city. It's where many important first impressions are made. It doesn't help if the impression is that Oklahoma City literally stinks.

I can't say that I have some brilliant solution, but it is a real problem. I don't know how you force a business out either. Doing so would certainly cost the city a lot of money and I don't think there'd be a lot of support for that. Ideally the market would take care of it, but it's my understanding that what it would take to get them to sell is not in line with current market value.

[hoya]

If we passed a smell ordinance, it might motivate them to reduce their asking price for the land.

[warreng88]

There was a great stand up by Ron White where he says the smell from a paper plant could be smelled by two million people in Houston on some days. "If it was music and 2 million people could hear it, they'd make you shut it the f#$k off."

[Laramie]

The Producers Cooperative Mill knew this would become a future issue, so they overpriced the property when they initially put on the market. They put $3 million into its expansion and increased the product line.

If we passed a smell ordinance, it might motivate them to reduce their asking price for the land.

Good point! I doubt if they ever intended to sell.

If anything, the Mill will probably continue to expand, so the odor issue is what should be addressed. What can be required of them to minimize the smell?

[OKCinsomniac]

Sorry to be contrary, but buying into housing near a long existing industrial plant with regularly emanating odors and complaining about the smell is more than a bit like buying across from the entrance to a hospital emergency room or big firehouse and complaining about the noise and the flashing lights.

No one slipped in under cover of darkness and created this place upwind from unsuspecting residential development, or retail and sporting venues. Saying it needs to be forced to relocate doesn't seem appropriate at all.

I agree with you on the basic principle, but I've worked downtown for 10 years and it is my impression that the odor has gotten worse over the past six months or so. I could be wrong. Maybe it has always smelled this bad and I've just never noticed (certainly a possibility). If not, however, and this is a new nuisance (possibly related to the plant expansion?), that perhaps changes things.

At any rate, as others have mentioned, it's not the type of impression I'd like to leave on visitors, neither visually nor "olfactorily," if you will. I believe we can do better. (Maybe convert to a lilac oil factory? Heh...)

I do agree that it would be best if the market just took care of it. Hopefully that is what will eventually occur, and maybe this is the project to get the ball moving in that direction.

[jccouger]

We really need to consider what our options are. Who do we need to talk to? Congressmen? Lawyers? What kind of people are the ones who need to talk to them? Nearby businesses, residencies? Any OKC citizen who has invested in downtown OKC with our tax money? There has got to be something we can do to force change. I don't mind the looks of the COOP, but the smell is terrible & something has got to be done. It is getting worse & worse, and it noticeable from miles around.

[shavethewhales]

My father, a chemical/petro engineer, once worked on a few projects that involved fixing the smell from refineries and process plants. There are plenty of ways to address smell, but it would certainly take some convincing for them to go through with the cost.

[HOT ROD]

There was a great stand up by Ron White where he says the smell from a paper plant could be smelled by two million people in Houston on some days. "If it was music and 2 million people could hear it, they'd make you shut it the f#$k off."

Speaking along those lines, national paper has a LONG standing paper mill in the city of Tacoma. I can confirm the smell, primarily when driving I-5 passing into or through Tacoma. However, I can say that the plant is located in the primary industrial area of the city near the Port of Tacoma and the smell dies quickly and is not noticeable once you reach downtown or the dense residential areas that are all uphill. Perhaps Tacoma has some sort of ordinance that National Paper adheres to; not sure.

[OKCRT]

They should close the place down and build a big bakery like Hostess and fill the air with a wonderful aroma of fresh bread. I do remember years ago when downtown in the morning you would get that wonderful smell. Now you go down there and it will make you sick.

[HOT ROD]

OKC used to have Hostess in South downtown iirc. It used to fill the air with the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries.

[OKCRT]

Oh yes,I remember that wonderful smell. Someone should seriously build a bakery downtown somewhere. That would make living downtown that much better. What would be better than waking up to that fresh bread smell every morning.

[ShadowStrings]

Oh yes,I remember that wonderful smell. Someone should seriously build a bakery downtown somewhere. That would make living downtown that much better. What would be better than waking up to that fresh bread smell every morning.

A chocolate factory.

[HOT ROD]

I wonder if the new Hostess might be interested in returning to near downtown? How do they handle current distribution?

[BrettM2]

I wonder if the new Hostess might be interested in returning to near downtown? How do they handle current distribution?

I think they just shut down an existing factory, so I think that would make opening a new one pretty much impossible.

[Laramie]

I wonder if the new Hostess might be interested in returning to near downtown? How do they handle current distribution?

The last I heard, when they closed Continental Bakery in 86-87; we were to be served by the Tulsa & Dallas area regional bakeries. Several of my cousins worked for Continental Bakeries which where owned by St. Louis-based Ralston-Purina Corp.

[Dar405301]

the "Aroma of Tacoma". been there, done that.