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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING
AUGUST 26, 2002
A Public Hearing was held in the Council Chambers of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, August 26, 2002. Chairman Vayda called the Public Hearing to order at 7:16 p.m.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Councilmen Edgar, Egan, Fiore, Hall, Kaupin, Mangini, Strom, Tait and Vayda. Councilman Tallarita was absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Town Attorney, Christopher W. Bromson; Deputy Director of Public Works, Geoffrey McAlmond; Director of Finance, Gregory Simmons; Assistant Director of Public Works, Colleen Brand.
Chairman Vayda read the notice of Public Hearing which was published in the Journal Inquirer on Saturday, August 17, 2002 as follows:
TOWN OF ENFIELD
LEGAL NOTICE
PUBLIC HEARING
MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2002
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL will hold a Public Hearing in the Enfield Town Hall, Council Chambers, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, August 26, 2002 at 7:15 p.m. to allow interested citizens an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE BULKY WASTE TRANSFER STATION FEES OF THE TOWN OF ENFIELD.
Copies of the proposed changes are available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Chairman Vayda then announced the ground rules for the public hearing.
Mr. McAlmond stated they are suggesting a revision to the fee structure to shift the burden of the disposal cost to the people who use the landfill transfer facility. He noted the disposal cost last year exceeded $350,000 and that's outside any costs for the Town personnel. He explained they're proposing that all of the material that enters the facility will be charged at a "pay-as-you-go" rate of five cents per pound, which equals the Town's disposal cost of $100 per ton.
Mr. McAlmond stated they would continue to accept leaves in the fall season, as in the past, in the area before the attendance booth. He noted only proof of Enfield residence would be required.
Mr. McAlmond stated curbside collection is currently $20 and would increase to $30 per collection. He pointed out they've had some large collections lately, but overall things work out very well and they keep the Town picked up.
Frank Patti, 325 North Maple Street
Noted he's a local landscaper and stated his belief there will be a problem with the bulky waste proposal of five cents per pound as concerns brush which includes grass and related debris. He explained this will be a problem for his customers.
Chairman Vayda requested Mr. McAlmond review the brush aspect of this. Mr. McAlmond stated they're proposing brush and yard waste be included in the per pound charge of five cents. He explained there are several reasons for this. He noted everything has to be processed and removed to another site, and there is a cost associated with that. He pointed out last year they spent approximately $75,000 just processing brush for its removal. He noted another aspect has to do with placing the attendant at the transfer station in a discretionary position, i.e., if there's brush on top of a load, he's in the position whereby he has to make a discretionary decision of whether to look under the load to see if something is there. He pointed out over the years they've had many instances where people get very irate to the point where they've actually had employees attacked. He noted this proposal would avoid the employee having to make a discretionary decision and basically everything that enters the transfer station is five cents per pound. He pointed out there is an alternate site available for landscapers and many use it. He noted this site is just across the border in Ellington and it's run by a private concern and they accept yard waste and charge approximately $10 per yard.
Councilman Fiore stated his understanding the Town has to treat yard waste and brush just like trash and they can no longer provide a pit for the burial of this material. Mr. McAlmond responded that's correct and added they cannot bury or burn material - anything entering that facility has to leave that facility.
Chairman Vayda stated there's a perception that there's an objective to raise more money for the Town, however, in reality the fact that this has been a tough budget year causes them to look at areas such as this. He noted the whole CRRA issue helped exacerbate the problem. He stated the bottom line is that they needed to find a way to transfer the cost of this service to the users of this service as opposed to having everyone pay for it.
As no one else from the public wished to speak, Chairman Vayda closed the Public Hearing at 7:25 p.m.
Suzanne F. Olechnicki
Town Clerk
Clerk of the Council
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