The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has appointed three people to the county’s Resource Recovery Development Authority.

Tom Ware, Jeff Duncan and Troy Welker were appointed to the RRDA by a unanimous commission vote Tuesday night.

They will begin serving on the RRDA on Jan. 1, unless a contract with a new operator for Ball Ground Recycling is approved before that time.

The commission voted in October to reconfigure the RRDA to include at least three non-elected officials.

“These are all folks who have been quick to tell us what they think whether we like to hear it or not. They’re people with business backgrounds, and I think they’ll be excellent for this purpose,” County Commissioner Harry Johnston said.

Ware, a retired homebuilding executive, said Wednesday he plans to be a tough negotiator when it comes to finding a new operator for Ball Ground Recycling.

“You have to ask the right questions, and be sure to get your answers before coming to a decision,” he said.

Ware has served on other county boards during his nine years as a Cherokee County resident and is currently a member of the parks and recreation board. Welker and Duncan could not be reached by press time.

Two county commissioners will remain on the RRDA until July 1. The commission has not yet decided who will stay on the board and who will step down, Ahrens said.

Ahrens said the county commission’s intent is to have the RRDA composed of only non-elected officials by July 1.

“That’s not hard and fast. We’re just staggering getting it from all elected officials to all non-elected,” he said.

The county created the RRDA in 2006 to issue $18.2 million in bonds for the construction of Ball Ground Recycling on Highway 5.

Former Ball Ground Recycling operator Jimmy Bobo stopped paying on the lease agreement last year and vacated the property in May. The RRDA has since been trying to recoup money lost in the investment and find a new operator for the recycling center.