Bethlehem Transfer Station Committee
Bethlehem, NH
Minutes of the Meeting
May 20, 2020
Note: Virtual Meeting via “Zoom”.
Committee members participating: Nancy Strand (host), dann, Barry Zitser, Chris Jensen, Julie Seely, Katherine Darges, Chris McGrath, Andrea Bryant
The Transfer Station Committee (TSC) reviewed the April minutes and made the following changes:
Andrea Bryant asked that the paragraph at the bottom of page 1 reflect that the TSC will provide pricing for purchasing, leasing, or obtaining from another contractor a 6-ton compactor truck.
Julie Seeley asked that the paragraph on page 3 regarding the “permit by notification” should be corrected to read, “no longer than 60 days.”
Nancy Strand said that her report on the meeting with the North Country Council (NCC) included information from text messages with members of the Council that were not part of the meeting that she and Barry Zitser attended. The full notes of the meeting and the texts had been appended to the April TSC minutes. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that the appended notes should be removed from the TSC minutes to avoid confusion.
With the above additions and changes, the Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.
Nancy updated the committee on possible grants. She and Barry Zitser contacted New Hampshire the Beautiful (NTB), which is closely allied with the Northeast Recovery Resource Authority (NRRA). NTB has programs for support and grants. They spoke with Stacy Morrison who is both the Administrative Logistics Manager of the NRRA and the Administrator for NHB.
NHB has free signage that we could use around a transfer station for showing hours, provide information on recycling, and to aid in finding the transfer station (e.g., arrows). They also have a program for providing a 20% reimbursement for equipment used in recycling such as a baler or crusher. New balers cost approximately $10,000 and new crushers cost about $7,500. We could get 20% of our purchase price back if we adhere to the conditions of the grants.
NHB does not have free literature about recycling but they do have free programs for schools in NRRA-member towns.
We get 60 points each year to spend on signage. If we are interested in free signs we need to order them by October 31, 2020. Ms Morrison suggested that, since points expire at the end of each year, we get them and store them until we need them. Barry sent out a link that shows all of the signs available from which we can choose.
It is considered too early to get a sign for the entrance of the transfer station because we don’t know when we may need it – within a year or several years from now. Meanwhile, we can get arrows and signs to go over individual recycling bins. Barry suggested that we try to put together an order by October 1, 2020 and get signs that will not become outdated.
Ms Morrison said that if the Town wants to use some of the equipment grant money for equipment we need to purchase the item and put it into service within a year of that purchase. Then the Town will get 20% of the cost back. NTB occasionally advances the money to make the purchase. The grants are contingent upon them having funds. Barry and Nancy did not mention that Bethlehem has a TSC capitol reserve fund for such purposes because they did not know if that might sway the NTB’s decision to give the grant one way or the other.
Nancy said that Ms Morrison and the whole NTB seem well organized and easy to deal with. Their committee meets fairly often and can make decisions on grants in as little as a week and no longer than three months.
Chris McGrath thanked Nancy and Barry for their excellent work and appreciates the time they put into it. He said that he did some research on the NTB program and likes the program. He added that he is all for getting things for free.
Chris McG also said that he agrees that the large (4 ft by 8 ft) Bethlehem Transfer Station sign should not have any hours permanently on it. Hours should be on a separate, smaller sign below the main sign.
Nancy said that she thinks it would be “cool” to have our sign say in quotes, “Working toward zero waste every year.” TSC members also put forward other slogans we might consider.
Barry reported that the Contingency Plan probably would be on the Town agenda some time in June. They would like members of the TSC to attend this meeting. To date, it has only gone to the Bethlehem Select Board and the Bethlehem Conservation Commission. He asked if anyone though that it should be sent to any other group at this time such as the NRRA and North Country Council (NCC). Chris Jensen said that the Contingency Plan is still a working document so should not go to other groups. Chris J suggested that he could talk with the Select Board to find out if they might want to have a working session with the TSC to get more more input before it officially goes to the Board in a public session for comment. Chris J’s main concern was that he didn’t want the Board to have to deal with the Contingency Plan at a regular meeting if there were a lot of things on the agenda, making it difficult for the Board to have the time to consider all the points.
The TSC consensus was that Chris J’s suggestion was a good one, so he will take the idea to the Select Board.
Barry reported on the NCC webinar and how it relates to our Contingency Plan. Among other things, he learned that there are four types of pay-as-you-throw plans:
- Pay by stickers for bags;
- Pay by weight – a great way to have waste reduction, but it creates a problem with having to weigh bags;
- Pay by the container – requires substantial initial capital outlay to provide containers;
- Pay by the bag – what we usually think of as “pay as you throw.”
Barry says that we chose well. The pay by the bag method is the best combination of convenience and ease of administration. Also, towns that use this method may provide bags at no cost through community programs such as food pantries.
Public support is absolutely essential in order to have a successful trash removal program. The best way to gain that is through public education programs.
Barry will send the slides from the webinar to TSC member who requests them.
Barry believes that interfacing with the Conservation Commission will be very beneficial for the TSC and Bethlehem in general because they have decades of knowledge on reducing waste, as well as the statutory authority to protect the environment.
Barry sent a copy of the TSC’s Contingency Plan to the Conservation Commission and received confirmation that they received it. He plans to attend the next Conservation Commission meeting. Chris J said that he thinks it would be good to receive any input that the Commission might offer.
Julie Seely gave an update on the North Country Environmental Services (NCES) permit for Stage 6 landfill application with the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES). There is no determination that the application is considered “complete” at this time. The DES will not begin its review until the application is complete. Barry would like to hear about any meeting that the DES might plan on this subject. He would like to attend.
Julie said that many towns might need to begin making contingency plans for the closing of the Trudeau Road landfill. Pemi Baker is starting to do this.
Barry pointed out that the only long-term item we have in our Contingency Plan is our zero waste initiative. We need to continue our planning for a transfer station no matter when the current landfill closes.
Casella does not seem to have any long-term plans for the Transfer Station when the landfill closes. When Barry previously inquired whether NCES would consider donating the Transfer Station to the Town upon the closing of the landfill, he was told that this donation was part of a comprehensive expansion plan that was previously rejected by Bethlehem voters, In the absence of such an expansion, NCES looks at its Transfer Station as an asset that it does not want to give away for no consideration.
It doesn’t look like the Select Board has any desire to enter into any new arrangements with NCES, particularly in light of the clear votes of Bethlehem residents against any further expansions. So further negotiations on this issue does not appear to be an option.
Katherine Darges asked if the Town owns any of the land at the current landfill on Trudeau Road. The driveway and the turn-around area would make a great little transfer station. Casella owns everything up to Trudeau Road, so we cannot use any of it.
Barry asked if we have any other possible sites for a permanent transfer station other than the old transfer station on Route 116 or the Town Garage, either at its current location or if it moves elsewhere.
Nancy asked if there is a way to find out what land the town owns. Chris J said it is listed in the Town Annual Report. Chris J also said that the Board of Selectmen reviewed the Route 116 site when it was proposed in 2000 and thought it would work for a permanent transfer station.
Barry said that he asks the question because it was suggested that we might have a problem with using the Town Garage as a temporary transfer station, even though it was used before.
Nancy asked if there was a resource for looking up land that the town owns. Chris McG said that the Bethlehem Annual Report contains a list of all properties that can be cross-referenced with the GIS maps of the area that are available on the Town website.
Nancy said we should ask the Conservation Commission if they have any suggestions for other locations for a transfer station. The TSC members agreed that this was a good idea.
The next TSC meeting will be on Wednesday, June 17 at 6:30 PM. Whether it will be as a group or on Zoom will depend upon the COVID-19 recommendations that week.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting, and was passed by all members attending.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM.
