JAY — Selectpersons voted 3-2 Monday not to take other towns’ trash.
The vote followed an initial vote of 0-5 to submit a proposal to the town of Fayette for $112,500 to accept its trash from three haulers that service that town.
Selectpersons voted 4-1 on March 14 to draft a pricing schedule and proposal to Fayette to take the town’s trash. Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere, Public Works Director John Johnson, Board of Selectpersons Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Selectperson Tom Goding were chosen to draft the schedule and proposal.
Fayette Town Manager Mark Robinson had asked Jay to submit the proposal.
Chairman Justin Merrill opposed the vote while Selectpersons Terry Bergeron, Steve McCourt, DeMillo and Goding were in favor.
Merrill stressed that the board should focus on Jay and what is going on in town.
Selectpersons voted in January to stop taking trash from Carthage and Fayette, and recyclables from the latter town as of July 1 to cut costs at the Jay Transfer and Recycling Facility.
Johnson, who also supervises the Transfer Station, did a cost analysis earlier this year and estimated a net profit of $2,690 for handling Carthage and Fayette’s municipal solid waste.
He also estimated a net loss of $4,335 to handle single-sort recyclables.
In favor of Monday’s vote not to take any other towns’ trash were DeMillo, Merrill and McCourt, and opposed were Bergeron and Goding.
The panel that drafted the $112,500 estimate looked at a number of variables and the costs ranged from $100,000 to $120,000, DeMillo said.
The $112,500 would cover all of Jay’s expenses and provided a good profit. It included money to go into Jay’s capital reserve for equipment and trucks. It also covered 400 tons of trash from Fayette.
Merrill calculated the cost per ton at $281.25.
It would be much more than Fayette currently pays Jay, DeMillo said.
It would also be the first town that Jay provided the services to over the years to contribute to Jay’s capital expenses, he said.
The town formerly ran a regional operation, started in 1991, which accepted recyclables and trash from several towns.
McCourt said Monday in his opinion, it was a lot of money that shouldn’t have been spent.
Some board members agreed that the town would be looking again at cutting expenses next year, and if they accepted other towns’ trash, they would have to revisit providing the service.
Jay’s largest taxpayer, Verso Androscoggin LLC, will pay less in taxes in 2016 because of declining valuation of the paper mill and associated property.
Selectpersons and Budget Committee reduced the proposed 2016-17 municipal budget by $368,434. Voters will consider the $5.27 million municipal budget at the polls on April 26 at the Community Building.
In other business, selectpersons voted unanimously to award a tax-acquired property of 0.58 of an acre on Greenridge Way to the highest bidder, Shawn McDonald of Jay, for $2,077.77. Four bids were received for the property. The board set a minimum bid of $1,200 to cover all town expenses and this year’s taxes.
McDonald has until April 11 to complete the transaction with the town.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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