AULANDER – A proposed new business venture here has the potential to put as many as 15 local individuals to work as well as providing shipping/receiving opportunities to trucking firms.

Allen Liverman pitched his idea to members of the Aulander Town Council during their regularly scheduled meeting Monday night.

Liverman, the owner of Liverman Automotive and Recycling in Bertie County just south of Aulander, has an option to purchase roughly 28 acres of property, formerly the site of Drennon’s Used Parts, near the intersection of NC 11 and NC 305. There he has plans to construct a 7,000 square foot building used for the purpose of shredding unusable vehicle tires.

Liverman is partnering with Al Gennarelli of Gates County to open the new business, which will be known as A&A Tire Recycling.

In a Tuesday afternoon interview with the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Liverman said he was hopeful the facility could open as early as October. That date hinges on obtaining the necessary permits to operate such a business and zoning issues.

“We’ve been told there are several types of grants that we can apply for in this type of business; we’re in the early stages of seeking that sort of financial assistance,” Liverman said.

He said the business will shred car/truck tires, grinding them up for reuse for a variety of purposes, including decorative mulch (for landscaping), boiler furnace fuel and for use in the asphalt and repaving industry.

As far as the source of material, Liverman said old tires are available at landfills and from tire distributors. He added that the majority of the buyers of the product are located in the northeast region of the United States.

Liverman said he and Gennarelli will visit a similar facility in Ocala, Florida to help shape the plans they have for the potential new local business.

“Not only can we put 12-to-15 people to work here locally at a time when jobs are hard to come by, but this business will also help the local trucking firms,” Liverman said. “We have to get the tires to us to grind and then have to ship the finished product to our buyers. We’ll do all of that by truck. This business will help our local economy in more ways than just through direct jobs.”

He also mentioned how the business will help the environment.

“Go down any road in our area and look at the number of tires thrown in the ditches,” Liverman noted. “Our new business will offer a place for those tires to go and help clean up the local environment.”

At Monday’s meeting, Liverman answered several questions from Aulander Council members, particularly dealing with possible noise and visual pollution.

“I assured them that everything will be enclosed, the tires will be stored either inside the building or in an enclosed trailer before they are shredded,” Liverman said. “We will also use 300 horsepower electric motors to shred the tires. Those motors do not emit the same noise that you will hear from a diesel-driven piece of machinery.”

Since the property is situated in both the town of Aulander and Bertie County, government entities from both will have to approve the operational and zoning permits. The Aulander Council took no action following Liverman’s presentation on Monday, rather using it as “information only” that will prompt further study.

The Bertie County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday night, Jan. 24. It is not known if Liverman is on their agenda to discuss the issue.