Minutes of Transfer Station Committee Meeting -- May 04, 2005 10:30 a.m.
In Attendance: Steve Maddock, Pete Bleyler, Marya Klee, Al Pryor, Simon Carr.
Apologies: Cynthia Bognolo.
Public: Jim Kenyon
1. Implementation:
a. Fee Payment card: Pete has prepared one with a UPC and has found a code provider to supply us with a single code for $79 + $35/year maintenance fee. Elise is arranging for the printing.
b. Notices and Flier: Pete had produced a notice for the next church newsletter (deadline Monday 9th May) and will do a follow-up for the June newsletter. He had also produced a new flier summarizing the operation and costs of the new system. It should include that pressurized tanks are not accepted. The C&D fee schedule needs approval by the Selectboard. Marya had a poem from Charlie Balch, written when re-cycling first started in town. With Charlie’s approval, she will get it copied so that we can pass it out with our publicity in June.
c. Town Web Site: Pete will check on the required changes.
d. Fencing: We had had a concern regarding the fencing location being outside the required setbacks. Steve had checked these with Don Maurer of NHDES, who said there was no problem with the location and that the pole barn was probably also acceptable. The fencing is on order and should be OK for the end of May. Steve had heard from Bucky Olsen that he was fully booked until September.
e. Procedure: we will ask the police to attend for the first two or three weeks of the new system and then ask Whitcher to monitor what is being thrown in the packer. If anyone objects to being stopped, then they should be referred to Al, who should generally be monitoring the C&D. If necessary the vehicle number should be noted. With respect to C&D, Al must be the only person making a decision on the discretionary loads.
2. Operation:
a. Clearing Site: A lot of items were being held out of the bins by Jed. Al is aware of the problem and, whilst Jed could remove stuff, it had to be taken off-site the same day.
b. Propane Tanks: we have 13 tanks that we need to dispose of. Al thought that some of the local fuel companies might accept them for recycling. If not, we would have to make an arrangement with one of the other towns who accept them; possibly Lebanon in conjunction with our HHW day.
c. Tires: The tire bin is almost full and we are expecting more tires from Green-up day. It is possible that Scott Bailey may take some. Jed should not harbor tires outside the bin.
d. Green-up Day: the Selectboard has said that a reasonable of tires, i.e. four, can be accepted free of charge. We would need to discuss future days with the Conservation Commission.
e. Old Garage: It is not clear when this will be removed.
f. Whitcher: Steve and Simon will go to meet Chris Whitcher on Friday, May 13 to talk about the operational changes.
g. Jed: He should be submitting his application for licensing this week.
3. Bargain Barn: The issue of the Bargain Barn had been raised by Darlene Lehmann at the Selectboard Meeting earlier in the day. The BB accepts and recycles a large amount of donated goods over the period from late May till September. This generates approximately $11,000 revenue for outreach purposes. At present, any donated items can be dropped off at any time at the horse shed. Despite their specification of what goods are acceptable, they find that many of the items received are not acceptable. In addition, they find that some trash is also dropped off. Currently, about a truckload (sometimes two) is taken to the dump each week. They have a concern that the cost of doing this under pay-per-throw will severely impact their revenue. The Selectboard
asked the Transfer Station Committee to investigate the situation and make suitable proposals
Pete said that he would like to have an initial suggestion to discuss at the next Selectboard meeting on May 11, with a final decision being made on May 18.
The other charitable operations in town were also considered and it was felt that the only other comparable one would be LBC Rummage Sale, which is both smaller and more controlled. Green-up Day will also have to be planned for, in conjunction with the Conservation Commission.
a. We should check with NRRA regarding other towns who have similar operations. Listen’s operation in Lebanon spends a significant amount with a commercial hauler on the same problem. It is not clear whether Lebanon offers any concession and we should investigate.
b. Steve and Marya will aim to talk with members of BB next Tuesday and try to form a proposal. The main items are:
i. The BB should separate recyclables.
ii. It was felt that the BB were not averse to some fee payment and that this should be explored. Either as a flat (annual) fee or as an arrangement to throw in the C&D.
iii. The possibility of the BB becoming an open-all-hours dump is a concern and we should ask the BB to take steps to limit this; by specifying the hours at which items can be dropped off or any other means.
4. Next meeting: The next meeting will be Wednesday May 18th 2005 10.30 a.m. at Lyme Center Academy
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