Henry Raymond
Fairfax News => Current News & Events => Topic started by: Barbara on February 19, 2016, 05:44:11 PM
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I have loved being able to brag that my taxes do buy me something as tangible as curbside trash collection, however the last few years of service on the Development Review Board caused me to see challenges to retaining Town wide trash pickup. Private roads with multi unit sub-divisions had to identify and provide an area for trash containment that was on the public byway. The piles of trash at the end of some roads were often pulled apart not just by dogs but by crows as well. Now legislature has been enacted that makes the challenge of disposing of trash in a simple and fiscally reasonable manner even less of a reality.
By my calculations with figures given at Thursday nights informational meeting it will cost $394 per parcel per year to implement the new proposed Article. That is $650,000, an average of the four years prices, divided by 1650, the number of parcels that was told to us. This Article is non-binding so even these figures are a best guess of a potential cost. Alternatively, the cost to join the District is approximately $6500 for the Town for the year and there is sufficient money in the proposed budget to take this action. That would mean we as Fairfax taxpayers could actually see a reduction in our property taxes by voting NO on this Article. I have an offer in my mail from Duffy's to have my trash picked up weekly for $23 per month. That times 12 is $276 which even with my share of the District price is still less than the Article's price tag, if it were figured per parcel. I will be happy to have the convenience of accessing the Georgia drop off at my convenience 6 days a week and request we join the District even if we buy the Cadilac trash plan.
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I have talked with Duffy's and they have several rates depending on what you would like. Your containers or theirs. Senior Citizen and Military special pricing. One can also have every other week pick up. You can customize the trash pick up to your needs.
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You are so right, Barbara, and I agree with voting NO on Article 3!!
I am so frustrated that the residents of Fairfax have not been educated on all the mandatory aspects of State Law Act 148 that we, the Town alone, are responsible for...it is so much more than just picking a hauler and putting the trash on the curb each week if we continue Town curbside. If we were a part of the District, they'd be educating us, our kids, and giving us whatever resources we need to increase recycling rates for our Town (mandatory). We're 7 months into the State reporting fiscal year ( the State bases deadlines on the first day of their fiscal year: July 1) and back to starting from scratch with residents voting on Article 3 without the information they'll need to make an informed decision.
I work for the Chittenden Solid Waste District, and work with CSWD's Solid Waste Implementation Plan (SWIP) requirements day in and day out. I've (literally) been in the SB's face since last May trying to educate them on all Act 148 entails, and that it's more involved than anyone on the SB, let alone poor Stacy, has time for.
This is a quote straight from the State regulations that applies to the Town of Fairfax (we are considered our own Solid Waste Management Entity-"SWME"), as well as all the other Solid Waste Districts (SWME's) in Vermont:
"The SWMEs will be responsible for meeting a set of standards and deliverables that measure actions applied at a local level. Failure by the SWMEs to meet the standards may result in a determination that a SWME is not in conformance
with the MMP."
Here's the link to the containing document: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/pubs/MMP2014/MMPdraft_18June2014_draft.pdf (http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/pubs/MMP2014/MMPdraft_18June2014_draft.pdf)
Here's the link on the State ANR website showing data collected in previous diversion and disposal reports: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/DandD.htm (http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/DandD.htm) It will give you an idea of what data the Town needs to aggregate for the SWIP deadline each year, with some data submitted biannually.
Town trash disposal data, along with residential and commercial recycling of landfill-banned materials, in additional to all data related to other diversion efforts (organic waste through composting, bulky waste like furniture, electronic waste, tires, scrap metal, paint collection) and it needs to meet the state diversion standards, meaning, the Town has to get trash disposal down, by a lot, and the amount of recycling in Town needs to go way, way up. The Town as a whole is on the hook for non-compliance by not doing these required tasks, and any fines will, I'm sure, trickle down to residents somehow.
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I strongly agree with you Barb. I think at least we should go with the Solid Waste District for at least a year to allow the Selectboard ample time to put this article out to bid the way that it should be rather than trying to get it done in a month and a half. Jim Meunier
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I was upset to find a postcard from Cassella teiilng me to vote yes on Article 3 in my mailbox Saturday. As the company who will receive the 2016 payment of $410,000 I think it is improper of them to attempt to influence our vote. I hope Fairfax votes No on Article 3 and joins all the town's of Franklin and Grand Isle counties in the Northwest Solid Waste district.
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I wonder why Casella wants everyone to vote yes. They've got the town contract if we do, and residents will have to pay those ridiculous prices for the next 4 years.
I don't like being deceived into thinking my elected officials are doing their due diligence when they are not. That's twice now they've been called out for not being truthful about collecting bids.
I just hear back from Gauthier's this morning that the last request for a bid from Fairfax was also in 2013.
I emailed Myers yesterday and they replied:
"No one has contacted me or the company in regards to a quote. In fact, I called Tom after the meeting and left him a message. I thanked him for letting me speak and told him if he needed anything else please contact me."-Joe Sinagra, Myers rep.
Myers and Gauthier's are the second 2 largest hauling companies, and no one called them? Myers said they'd bid, and our Board never called them back?
This isn't right. I cannot believe we were told, to our faces, that they called other haulers. They absolutely did not call Myers or Gauthier's.
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Also, Mrs. Freddie. Did you call any of the Select Board? Before saying they are lying to you. I honestly encourage you to not judge folks without calling on both sides please. They do answer the phone and they do respond if went to voicemail. I have spoken to several of them during this process to ask questions as the local rumor mill can get way out of hand.
I also understand us voting "No" makes your employer money as well. So voting "No" in your campaign on the website is no different in my opinion than Casella sending a postcard. When you first posted started to provide information was different, now your posts are vote no and our selectboard is lying...
The Select Board did not have to do any of this and could have made the decision as it is their right as a Select Board. I appreciate them bringing to the public the option to choose. I hope everyone can get as informed as possible with all the facts before tomorrow so they can choose what they feel is their best option via Yes or No.
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I did NOT have a problem with the postcard any more than the flyers received from our current hauler, whom had backed out of the town contract, or the 3rd flyer from a hauler that did not want in with the select board's request. I just hope all know that less than $40.00 per month as they stated, can still be more the what the board got in a worse case scenario from Casella's @ $32. per month, which hopefully will be even lower. I still wish there was a way that landlords would be responsible for each apartment as a separate unit: if they have 3 apartments then they should pay the fee 3xs as they have 3xs the trash! That could be figured out I would think by the lister's office as they know the properties. That also would reduce the rate...I do not feel going by property value is fair to many whom may just have a really nice home with only 2 people living there. Just a thought that others have shared.
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The flat rate will do just that ohhman. Which they discussed flat rate so it would no longer be a % of your taxes.
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So that would mean landlords were charged per apartment? that would seem to be the fairer way.. Thanks again for your info!!
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mkr: Yes. I surely did reach out several times in the past year asking for information about Act 148. I have done 'educational outreach' in the form of presentations about recycling and composting at BFA for the elementary kids and even offered via email to give the board all the materials I used so my efforts could "count" for our Act 148 requirements, and no one got back to me from the Town.
I again emailed the Select Board after I got the mailing about the special meeting for just this reason, and was told Casella was the only bidder. I asked the select board directly, in person, at the special meeting if they asked other haulers to submit bids and again told Casella was the only bidder. The question was asked again at Town Meeting and again people were told that the select board reached out to other haulers, again with no response. It doesn't matter what the Casella bid works out to, the point is there was no competition for better rates. I don't understand how that is being truthful, mkr. I was told to my face something that is untrue, and I confirmed they did not contact Myers or Gauthier before posting. I have done my research and due diligence, mkr.
Also, I work for the Chittenden Solid Waste District, not the Northwest Solid Waste District. I do this for a living and know Act 148 extremely well, and the information we're getting from the select board about what Act 148 is not entirely accurate. I've been on these threads trying to educate with factual info but incorrect information is still being posted about Act 148.
Let me be clear, mkr:, no, CSWD would not make money if people vote no. I have been speaking out about Act 148 in my free time, after doing this at work all day.
I am encouraging people to vote for something that take money away from CSWD, because I care about where I live, and I care about doing the right thing. All the trash goes the same place, no matter who's hauling it. Duffy's takes Fairfax trash to the Casella-owned transfer station. Casella will also take Fairfax trash to their facility. It doesn't matter who hauls it, Fairfax trash goes to the Casella's facility in Williston. You saying I benefit is false, and actually the opposite is true. Vote no and CSWD will actually lose money because residents may chose to use a NWSWD drop-off center, meaning they will not be charged the solid waste fee CSWD would normally collect for the entire town's trash. I want what's best for our Town so please do not imply I am in any way financially motivated to drive this vote one way or another. I go to BFA, in my free time, by request from teachers who know me as the recycling guru, and I educate the little kids because I love to do it. For FREE. Some teachers and I are working on moving from milk cartons that go in the trash, to recyclable milk jugs.
And ohhman, Myers did indeed follow up with the select board after the special meeting, and I have quoted the Myers rep in another thread who wrote to me saying Tom never called him back to follow up about a bid. Again, the select board stating they again called around is not accurate as Gauthier's also confirmed they have not heard from the Town of Fairfax since 2013. I have a quote from Jane Gauthier confirming this as well.
In my house, saying something that isn't true is called a lie. I did my research and presented proof that these 2 haulers were not contacted after being told, twice, by the select board that they were.
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I apologize for screwing up about your employment. That is my bad.
As for the he said she said stuff I am just going to leave that as it is. I ask that we keep it to trash and not bash others.
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It's a common mistake, but one that needs to be clarified. Now you know :) Thanks for responding, mkr.
The bid issue is about transparency and since I work for a large board of commissioners, I know bids must be collected for any municipal contracts over $2,500. That's CSWD, true, but the same general guidelines should apply to the Town. This bid is significant, and I would have assumed there would be more options. It's a moot issue at this point, anyway.
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For further information - I just personally spoke with Jeff Myers from Myers Waste and Recycle. He advised that if asked to submit a bid (which they were not asked to do) he would be bidding for Myers Waste and Recycle only.
He also indicated that they would be willing to make an offer if the Town voted "Yes". As for the "unanswered" phone call, he didn't have a recollection that a call ever went unanswered but simply reiterated his Company "wasn't at the table" to make a bid in the first place.
Thanks to Mr. Myers and the rest of the folks who have provided further information in a professional manner on this issue.
Make that vote count tomorrow!!!
All is fair in love and garbage,
Lauri Fisher
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Hahaha ok, I'm done with this. Sounds like you, and the board, have done what you can, so thank you for your work on this. I do love trash, and I do love my town, and would be happy to continue to volunteer at BFA as the recycling lady. Did i just say I love trash?
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I have no idea how most residents feel about this Trash dilemma. I wish there was a poll of residents. I'm an educated woman, but this is confusing. My fault to a large degree....didn't have time to do all the research ahead of time.
As a senior, I cant haul trash anywhere. Our property taxes are high and we can't even get our trash hauled? That to me is incredible!!!
Anyway, I would like to have some idea how residents are voting. If I cant haul trash off property, I will have to vote YES.
I can imagine this is going to be messy in more ways than one. See you tomorrow.....
Nancyd
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Nancy,
Voting yes will keep our curbside service, the Town will just be contracting with Casella instead of Duffy's. There is a lot of information regarding what is included with Casella's proposal, so I would email the select board for those specifics.
Voting no will move our Town to join the Northwest Solid Waste District, and you will still be able to get your trash and recycling picked up at your house.
You'd just call one of the haulers and hire them, and then your curbside service continues as you're used to. You may pick any hauler that gives you the best rate, and may also decide if you'd like your trash pickup to be on a different day. You'd also be able to hire a hauler to come every other week if you're a senior citizen that doesn't generate a lot of trash. That may drop your monthly rate.
Here is the link to the Northwest Solid Waste District for your reference: http://nwswd.org/ (http://nwswd.org/)
Here is the link to the State of Vermont Act 148 page: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/Act148.htm (http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/Act148.htm)
I hope this is helpful, Nancy.
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Thank you! I appreciate your explanation. Oh one more question... If we vote NO, our property
Taxes will be reduced? And if so, I wonder by how much?
My best,
Nancyd
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I'm not 100% on the actual figures, Nancy, but from what I understand about what the cost is to join the District, it's a fraction of a percent on our tax bill. Keeping curbside will cost more through our property taxes, however, you would pay to hire your own hauler by voting no so that cost would be front and center as a monthly fee. Curbside expenses through the Town (voting yes) you'll pay yearly or however you're set up to pay your property taxes, but I'm not sure if waste disposal is itemized per household on the bill. I'd check with the Town on that.
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Kind of late for most people I'm sure but one additional thought:
If the town joins the waste district, there are many items they will take (some at cost) that the haulers will NOT take. I'm not even sure what to do with those things now. I guess there are the 'special' days like hazardous waste day (and why is clothing considered hazardous waste??). But that means you need to save it all up and take it to the collection point on the specific day (April 18 last year). If the town is part of the waste district you can get rid of all that stuff 6 days a week at the Georgia station whether you choose to contract for curbside pickup or not. For the items that cost, you will pay either way but you won't be storing them in your house or garage for up to a year.
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BHA-That flyer sent out to residents a while back with the little recycle symbol magnet on it, contains a lot of wrong info. Please do not use that as a guide for what is recyclable! For example, clothes are not hazardous waste :).
**** STYROFOAM is NOT RECYCLABLE!!!***. It does NOT matter if there is an arrow on the container with a number in it, no styrofoam is recyclable, so do not put any in your blue bin! On the flyer, it says you can recycle any Styrofoam, but all Styrofoam is trash Even if it has the recycle arrows with a number in it....it's all trash.
All your recycling you currently set on the curb is taken to CSWD's Materials' Recycling Facility (MRF) in Williston. They have sorting equipment that separates paper from plastics, metal, glass, etc, and Styrofoam clogs up those machines. The to-go containers you get from Steeple Market, ARE recyclable. Those are ok for your blue bin.
For what you CAN put in your curbside blue bwww.cswd.net (http://www.cswd.net) and search in the A-Z list.
This wouldn't effect voting one way or another because if you have any kind of curbside service in Fairfax, private or town-contracted, that hauler will take your recycling the the MRF in Williston.
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Thanks for that correction. It might be of value if an accurate sheet was sent out since I suspect I am not the only person who ASSUMED what was sent was accurate and would not think to look for anything else. I am also glad that I do not clad myself in hazardous waste every day!
The link http://cswd.net/recycling/a-z/ (http://cswd.net/recycling/a-z/) is CSWD. I ASSUME it is Act 148 driven and the same statewide.
I guess the people at the Williston MRF must be busy every week with picking styrofoam out of the my recycles and that of others. I was surprised to see it on the "recycle" list but am quite happy to recycle everything I can. I couldn't figure out why ground meat trays had no recycle number, they look the same as all the others to me. Ray at Georgia Market didn't know either so I ASSUMED that maybe ground meat was more likely to "taint" the foam. Guess not! The site does say that styrofoam is recyclable but not in Vermont. More densely populated places generate enough to make it economically viable, ASSUMING people clean the food trays (I expect the biggest problem is with those that held meat) which is a big assumption.
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BHA-that flyer, I was told, was created by one of the sb members and mailed to the entire town. I went to the Town Hall the day I got it in the mail to ask who made it and why!? Poor Stacy!! I was confused about who made the flyer and thought she did momentarily. She did not and I guess it wasn't an "official" town mailing. I brought it into work the next day and it was not well received at CSWD. Staff works hard to educate people that recycling arrows and a number do not necessarily mean it can be recycled, especially emphasizing Styrofoam as an example.
You're right that the MRF sorting crew spends a lot of time pulling out Styrofoam, so much so that CSWD had to create a contamination policy so haulers bringing in large amounts of Styrofoam (and other non-recyclable items like plastic grocery bags) will educate their customers. There is a fee per ton if the load is deemed 'contaminated' assessed on the hauler. If there is too much contamination, the load is rejected and sent to transfer station as trash. It's important to get the correct information out there and seeing that flyer was pretty discouraging. Thanks for posting a better link to the A-Z list!
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Oh my. I wonder how many loads of recycles Duffy picked up that went straight to the trash stream.
How do we get this corrected? Especially if it was sent out by the town (but NOT officially????). It has been on my refrigerator for, what, about a year?? And everyone has been "recycling" things we are not supposed to recycle all that time? Certainly no one from Duffy's ever let me know I was not supposed to put styrofoam in the recycle bins and sometimes it was big blocks not just less obvious meat trays mixed in with the paper, plastic "bottles" and metal cans.
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BHA-First thing you do is take that flyer down and recycle it :). It is detrimental to CSWD's outreach efforts in our District for this flyer to be rampant in Fairfax!
Replace that flyer with one downloaded and printed from this page:
http://cswd.net/recycling/recycling-bins-decals-and-posters/ (http://cswd.net/recycling/recycling-bins-decals-and-posters/)
Again, all recycling we put on the curb goes to the MRF in Williston, so even though these are CSWD stickers, the 'how to' information still applies.
Styrofoam=TRASH. ALWAYS. I almost divorced my husband for putting Styrofoam in our blue bin one Thursday...he's still sorry :)
If you'd like to learn about those recycle arrows and their corresponding number, click here and read about 'resin codes':
http://cswd.net/recycling/plastic-resin-codes/ (http://cswd.net/recycling/plastic-resin-codes/) Point being: arrows and a number on your plastic does not necessarily mean it can go in your blue bin.
If you kept the front page of the flyer that stated: Recycle vs Trash-Act 148, please note that it's pretty much all inaccurate. The State isn't looking to fine everyone to 'make money', first of all. That's portrays Act 148 as a 'bad' thing, even though it's purpose is to keep our state from turning into a landfill. One landfill is already at capacity in this state, and the second is filling up rapidly.
The "60lbs of trash" is wrong. Most haulers do not have a mechanism to weigh everyone's trash can/bag/cart each week, then record it per household. It is estimated by the volume of the container, not weight, and it'll be important for residents to know the volume of trash container we can put out each week on May 1 (start of new contract with Casella).
For example, the smaller size generic trash can is usually around 32G, the regular hauler-issued toter or cart is 64G, and the really big wheeled carts are 96G. The Town will need to decide on what VOLUME of TRASH container each household is 'allowed' to put out weekly as a part of our Article 3 service contract. If the Town contract with Casella is for a 64G trash container per household, then you'd have to purchase a 'trash sticker' (the only accurate part on this flyer) for each additional 'bag' or 'container' above 64G. 64G is an example. No trash sticker on the extra bags and Casella will need to either take it and eat the disposal cost, or leave the superfluous trash bags on your driveway. Duffy's contract included that provision, but I'm not sure how many people actually bought stickers for their extra trash bags (never saw one).
Increasing Town recycling rates will be tough if everyone gets a huge 64G trash toter they can fill every week. I asked Casella today what Faifax residents would be getting as far as carts, toters, etc, and was told they'd be meeting with the Town soon to hash out those, and other, details . Stay tuned on that I guess.
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FYI that Casella is on the Select Board agenda for tonight's meeting at 7pm. I plan to attend, and encourage anyone else with questions to do just what was suggested by a SB member: go to the meeting and voice your opinion.
Thanks to ssweet for the head's up that Casella was speaking at tonight's meeting!
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I sincerely hope anyone that attends goes in with an open mind, letting Casella's & the board speak, & trusting that our board will do what they feel is best for our town, which is why we have elected them.
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Very good point, oohman, and I agree 100% Personally, I only wish to offer my time and volunteer for more Act 148 outreach at BFA. I love doing teaching the kids and am happy to continue to do it (for free :)).
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My Monday nights don't allow me to go to the SB meetings.
What was the general discussion re Casella?
IIRC the Article 3 details were "flexible", one of the things that bothered me about it. Vote to spend "this" much money and get "well, we don't really know" service for it. For instance the dollar value we were quoted included new trash receptacles for all but that wasn't a "must do".
My taxes will go up whether they stick with a property assessment or fixed per household payment method and I will continue to subsidize people who generate a lot of trash and recycle little. I am hopeful that "perks" like new receptacles that don't benefit people will be pulled and the increased cost of curbside collection minimized as much as possible. For instance, my family of 3 (4 when the college kid is home) doesn't generate enough trash OR recycles to need weekly pickup. Not even enough to require it every other week. All of my organics go either to the chickens or the compost pile so I don't have an issue with things maybe getting stinky if they sit around too long. I know that isn't true for everyone but maybe with a bit of effort people can reduce the physical volume of their recycles and trash (squashing plastic bottles, gable tops, etc) and we could go to an every other week pickup schedule to save a fair bit of money.
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It was an encouraging presentation by Casella at Monday's meeting. They are enthusiastic about running a great curbside program for residents, providing education and outreach to reduce trash disposal and increase recycling in the form of a dedicated Town waste management website and direct mailings, etc.
I think Casella is crunching numbers for 64G trash and recycle weekly for 2.5 years. Tom suggested 64G trash bi-weekly at the 2.5 year point, and potentially reduce the volume of the trash container to 40-something gallons when food scrap collection is phased in. Unlimited recycling will be collected weekly, and you are allowed to put your 64G recycling cart plus 10 blue recycle bins with no penalty. That's important for everyone to know. Casella would offer a larger household a 96G container option, but for recycling only. Trash containers distributed to residents will not exceed 64G, from what I understood.
The organics phase of Act 148 reaches the residential level in 2020, however, since organic waste is the heaviest component of residential trash, starting to roll out home food scrap collection containers, outreach and education on backyard composting etc, was discussed and the Board was definitely interested in moving the 2020 implementation date forward. Great idea, in my opinion. They didn't discuss if individual household waste generation will be considered, but Casella stated generally that they will work with people to address concerns.
I'd say Casella did their homework and came in with a promising game plan. Tom also did a great job leading the conversation in support of everyone reducing the size of their trash container, sustaining bi-weekly curbside trash pickup, and implementing food scrap collection and composting resources for residents far in advance of the state deadline.
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Thanks for the update mrs.freddie
Clearly we don't buy enough 'stuff' (or maybe don't clean out often enough ;) )
What the heck are people putting out at the curb every week to generate that much volume? I can't imagine filling a 30 gallon can weekly let alone a 64 gallon can. If I were to flatten out the "mostly air" things in the trash, the 30 gallon can wouldn't be 1/4 full most weeks. And most weeks 2 of the small blue bins of unflattened (except cardboard) recycles is plenty.
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Remember that not all households are the same. It is by household not person. One person is not the same as a 4 or 8 person household.
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I have to say, of the many years I've lived here, I've never seen Fairfax's trash collection get this much scrutiny and calculation. It's always just slipped by fairly unnoticed, because people liked having the town take care of hauling the trash away--and apparently a majority of voters still feel that way--but this shift has been interesting to witness, when it was not mentioned for years.
Is the focus due to the law that's been enacted and the fact that residents generating trash above a certain amount have to pay more for it?
Having a discussion about such things is definitely a good idea, but after so many years, it's surprising to see the conversation re: taxes and rental units and just wondering what is so different now that has prompted this? The new law, so many new rentals? (Taxes go up every year, regardless, so it would seem a bit of a non sequitur)
Any insight anyone? MK?
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mijo
It is a significant increase with the ACT 148 coming into full force. Which I believe stirred up the point why is this not a line item on taxes vs a % of your assessment. Which I think is a great point to be fair across the board for paying for your trash in my opinion. You have an apartment building with 5 units, you should pay for 5 parcels of trash.