FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Kevin Musewicz lives right next to the Pure Flavor greenhouse along Highway 96 in Fort Valley. Back in January, he said the lights from the greenhouse were a problem.
"Once it gets dark, they shut the lights off until 1 a.m. At 1 a.m., they flick them all on and you can see it from Mars," says Musewicz.
Now, almost four months later, he says the lights have gotten better. "We're back to summertime hours, days are longer, the plants are getting the sunlight they require, I suppose, so the lights haven't been on at night like they used to."
But he feels once fall rolls around, so will the bright lights. "I'd like to remind the public that they will be back on this fall -- nothing's changed," Musewicz says.
He and Ken Day, who lives about two miles away, agree that it's still an issue that needs to be resolved before construction continues. "More construction happens, they add a second or third greenhouse, it's gonna be two to three times as bad, and we can't stop that," says Day.
During a county commissioners meeting in February, it was revealed that a lawsuit was filed against the county. A lawyer on behalf of Peach County advised that county commissioners stay away from commenting on anything related to the Pure Flavor greenhouse. For that reason, there have not been any public comments on the light issues from the fall.
Although there is no official comment from the commissioners, Day wants concerned neighbors to keep pressing the issue through the summer. "We're not seeing these lights every night, it's not keeping you awake, so it's easy to forget about it. We all have lives, we all have other things going on, I personally have other issues going on that I'm thinking about, but remembering the lights will come back."
When 13WMAZ contacted Pure Flavor about the issue back in January, the company responded, saying they were aware of the concerns of neighbors and had blackout curtains prepared to roll out once the lights are turned on in the winter.