Building Our Own Transfer Station
To the Residents of Petersburgh, regarding the proposed Transfer Station:
First a quick history. Roughly seven years ago when I was elected to the Town Board, the Town was only able to cover its basic expenses and even then with tax hikes much higher than the 2% or less we’ve enjoyed for the past several years. There were no monies for the Highway Reserve Fund or the General Reserve. Under Ziggy’s leadership and new Board Members this all changed. Expenses were brought under control, reserve funds set up and taxes reduced to 2 percent or less.
Five years ago we could see the writing on the wall in regards to escalating costs associated with the Transfer Station at Berlin. At that time we tried to take action and save the monies we were spending subsidizing Berlin’s residents. This would have saved the Town of Petersburgh roughly $25,000 a year. Then as now there was a lot of trepidation on behalf of some of the residents, which is to be expected – it’s a big change. Due to this resistance – and to be fair we did not have the ideal location – the issue was dropped. Unfortunately, since then we have spent $125,000 more than we should have paying for the residents of Berlin to have the convenience of a Transfer Station. No one on the Board takes issue with anyone in Berlin, but as much as I like my neighbors I don’t want to pay their County Waste bills. This is what Petersburgh residents are doing for the residents of Berlin.
So, with the looming deficit of $40,000 a year with a new agreement with Berlin, Petersburgh can ill afford not to take action. “Thinking about it” for 2 years or even a year or because it might not be as easy to get rid of a barn makes no sense and only waste more money. We’ve every intention of trying to negotiate a fair contract but barring a positive outcome Petersburgh has to be ready to act.
Tom Berry and I met with the owner of the Valente Mine just off Route 22, 1.75 miles from the Town Hall headed towards North Petersburgh. This is an excellent location, it cannot be seen from the road or neighboring homes. There is a concrete pad large enough for all the needed containers and a construction trailer for the employee to shelter in as well as store supplies. Electric is also onsite. The space is wide open and flat. Jay Burdick suggested this site and we can’t thank him enough.
Our plan is to offer all the same service offered at Berlin. We will take household garbage, recyclable (includes cans, bottles, batteries, tires etc.) We will not offer deposit returns on cans and bottles but will accept them and let organizations such as the Boy Scouts or the Summer Youth Program return them and use the funds. The Transfer Station will be modeled after Grafton’s the only difference being we will have to pay the landowner $600 monthly. We may have to increase the cost per bag to $3.00 to offset this cost. Even with this additional cost we anticipate saving $30,000 a year.
This will be a Town effort. Members of the Board have offered their time and services as well as members of the public to get this up and running. Their generosity is overwhelming and greatly appreciated. Your continued commitment to the success of the Town of Petersburgh is as always outstanding. In taking this team approach, listening to and addressing feedback from the public, and the roll up the sleeves and get it done attitude Petersburgh has always had, makes me supremely confident in the success of this venture.
Thank you,
Jack Barnhill, Town Board Member