Duffy's Letter

[mkr]

Hi all I was asked to post by Catherine. (If you have questions, do not respond to me, but reach out to Duffy's) Thank you!


I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the misinformation that has been circulating concerning the decision to either join the Northwest Solid Waste District or go with the $615000 annual contract Casella has proposed.
Firstly, joining the NW District does not mean that you have to use the district’s drop off facilities. That is an option but you can still have a town contract with one hauler or can go with an open market where you can choose your own hauler. The district charges $2 for a 15 gallon bag and $4 for a 30 gallon bag. Private haulers charge about 20-40 a month for weekly plans with containers for waste and recycling. Larger plans may cost a few dollars more, smaller plans charge less.
Casella’s plan comes to $32 per month per household. For thirty two dollars a month you will be allowed 64 gallons of trash per week and will have a container for recycling. This is equivalent to two 30 gallon bags of trash per week. If you have more than that you will pay more! This means that if you go over your 64 gallon limit by one bag a week you will be paying $42 a month or more.
People have also expressed concern that having multiple haulers will increase truck traffic in their neighborhood. There are already multiple waste removal companies picking up dumpsters for commercial customers in Fairfax and the number of companies driving trucks through the town wouldn’t increase very much if people chose their own haulers, there certainly wouldn’t be a noticeable change in truck traffic. Also, neighborhood associations could chose one hauler, receiving a low rate, while limiting truck traffic.
Another concern people have had is that if trash isn't included in the taxes people will just throw their trash every where. Most other towns in the area do not have a one hauler system and they do not have this problem. Most people do the right thing. Fairfax is a town with a population that is educated and has a high socioeconomic status. People will take care of their waste. If this problem did occur at all there is a town Health officer that will address this.
Being able to choose your own hauler gives individual households the chance to choose a company that they think provides the best service based on their own experience. People should not be forced to use one hauler based on a majority vote. They deserve the freedom to choose for themselves. It is proven that more competition in one area lowers the cost of service and stimulates the local economy by giving multiple companies much needed business.  We believe having a free choice system for waste removal in Fairfax will result in lower waste removal costs for everyone and will ensure that haulers are providing the highest quality service possible.
 
 
Thank you,
Catherine Duffy
 

[mrs.freddie]

Catherine Duffy is absolutely correct, and I'm glad another solid waste professional chimed in with accurate information. 

Vote No and it’d be a one-time task to hire the hauler, then curbside continues. It'd be pretty easy to call around, get the best price then 'set it and forget it'. Neighbors can get together and shop around for a hauler to service that area, which will reduce truck traffic. Negotiate a discount for group rates. Catherine Duffy has stated Duffy's is offering that option to residents if we vote no on Article 3. 

People who recycle more, will pay less, which is also the law under Act 148.  Less trash=less money, known as "Pay-As-You-Throw", another component of Act 148. Link for more info on what haulers can and can't do under Act 148: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/URHaulers.htm. 

Vote No and residents will have the option to use a NWSWD drop-off facility, like in Georgia, if they so desire.  People can also bring compost and other materials that you can't put on the curb with your trash to the drop-off,  like all that random junk in your basement.

Check out the NWSWD website for a list of benefits residents can take advantage of http://nwswd.org/faq/ if we vote No on Article 3.

To simplify what we're voting on, voting yes means the Town must visit and educate residents, businesses and schools on how to recycle (and compost, by 2020) as much as they can because the Town as a whole needs to show a reduction in trash disposal that meets the State Performance Standards.  This page is dedicated to municipalities:  http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/URmunicipal.htm.

This work is in addition to the Town having to send out an RFP for curbside service, collecting bids from haulers, then presenting them to residents to consider before voting again.     

For a little light reading, check out the main Act 148 page: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/wastediv/solid/Act148.htm 

I encourage people to consider all the information to make an educated decision when voting.  Again, voting NO on Article 3 will make this Act 148 headache the NWSWD's problem, and relieve the Town of all reporting liability and the administrative, labor-intensive headache.

Thank you for your time-please feel free to email me with any Act 148 questions.

Katie Frederick, Enforcement Coordinator
kfrederick@cswd.net

[mkr]

And just to be clear, us joining the district benefits your office Katie.

As for set it and forget it for picking a hauler.  That is not the case with all haulers, as I have now heard of nightmares where people fight to get charged properly on a regular basis from some haulers.  So it is important if the vote is no that you seriously look into your haulers and find out from locals their experience.

Also something not mentioned is the $22/ton we get charged from the district if we vote no and go on our own for haulers. Not only do we have the district charge but the garbage you have hauled away or brought to the district, the district will be billing us $22 a ton to the town.  I heard this during town meeting yesterday as well. So about $40,000-$50,000 for initial, and a yearly charge, plus our bag charge and then the district bills us $22/ton as well.

Also if you go to the district, zero sort does not occur for recycling and this is something I think is important to let people know as well. Your haulers just take it away where if you bring to the district you have to do the sort there.

ACT 148 is included in the Casella bid and so that would not be an issue the town would have to worry about either "Yes" or "No" vote.

I want everyone to be well informed of all options and also those charges not mentioned so everyone can think thru this and vote how they feel best meets their needs.

[ohhman]

THANK YOU MK for putting this up!! I truly hope everyone READS it before tomorrow's vote! I also thank the select board for their work to help our town through this process.  I really wish Casella's would have sharpened their pencils before election as I know the select board has tried their best to get the price down, but I also heard from many to get a quote for something like this is not an easy process.   

[BHA]

And just to be clear, us joining the district benefits your office Katie.

As for set it and forget it for picking a hauler.  That is not the case with all haulers, as I have now heard of nightmares where people fight to get charged properly on a regular basis from some haulers.  So it is important if the vote is no that you seriously look into your haulers and find out from locals their experience.

Also something not mentioned is the $22/ton we get charged from the district if we vote no and go on our own for haulers. Not only do we have the district charge but the garbage you have hauled away or brought to the district, the district will be billing us $22 a ton to the town.  I heard this during town meeting yesterday as well. So about $40,000-$50,000 for initial, and a yearly charge, plus our bag charge and then the district bills us $22/ton as well.

Also if you go to the district, zero sort does not occur for recycling and this is something I think is important to let people know as well. Your haulers just take it away where if you bring to the district you have to do the sort there.

ACT 148 is included in the Casella bid and so that would not be an issue the town would have to worry about either "Yes" or "No" vote.

I want everyone to be well informed of all options and also those charges not mentioned so everyone can think thru this and vote how they feel best meets their needs.

$40 to $50K to join the district is WRONG! And sadly posted in several places. It is $2.50/capita. That means $2.50 for each resident of the town. The population at the 2010 census was 4,285. Even if it is now 5,000 (I have no idea), the cost to join is $12,500.

[BHA]

And just to be clear, us joining the district benefits your office Katie.

You also posted this in at least one other thread and were corrected there. MrsFredrick does not work for the Northwest Solid Waste District but the Chittenden Solid Waste District.

You apologized for the misinformation in the other thread and should do so here as well given some people may not see the other posts.

[mrs.freddie]

Thank you, BHA   Much appreciated!  Happy Voting!!

[mkr]

I did apologize for saying she was of THIS district and not Chittenden. I see you saw that on the other post, I did this in two places in response.

Katie saw it and responded...

It's a common mistake, but one that needs to be clarified.  Now you know Smiley  Thanks for responding, mkr.

We good BHA?

Also so we are transparent on this thread as well:

   
From Mrs. Freddie   
Re: Trash removal opinions?
« Reply #25 on: February 29, 2016, 05:35:18 PM »
I'm off my 'recyclable' soap box (get it? let's all lighten up, including me) and I retract my post suggesting our board was being dishonest.  Lauri has explained what went into getting Casella's bid, which wasn't made clear previously, and that's all I was looking for.  I work hard at my trash-y day job and was concerned about my taxes being allocated in our best financial interest. I live trash, as glamorous as that sounds, and am happy to continue to volunteer at BFA to educate our kids (and staff!) on what is and isn't recyclable and what they can compost, which is coming down the pike soon!  Community garden grown with compost made from residents food scraps, anyone?  Need to build a compost bin?  I'm totally up for helping out with any of this, and welcome residents to reach out if they're looking to start composting before it becomes mandatory for everyone in 2020.

All's fair in love, trash, and pretty soon, food scraps Smiley

Vote, do your civic duty, and I'm going to go break down my cardboard soap box and put it in my blue bin.

[mrs.freddie]

Thank you for copying that over, mkr.  I didn't think to do that.  BHA, still much appreciated.

The last thing I wanted to do was to bring this discussion down to this level.  I work for CSWD, I know Act 148 very well, and hopefully educated some people with info I posted about what they're voting on today.  I've posted all facts, with references, and quoted people who provided other information. 

Most importantly, I do not benefit in any way if you vote yes, or no.  I don't get a raise if you recycle, or throw out 30 bags of trash every week.  There is nothing other than the best interest of the Town in mind, and since I know what the hell I'm talking about, my friends who live here can make an informed decision today.

[BHA]

I did apologize for saying she was of THIS district and not Chittenden. I see you saw that on the other post, I did this in two places in response.

Katie saw it and responded...

It's a common mistake, but one that needs to be clarified.  Now you know Smiley  Thanks for responding, mkr.

We good BHA?

No problems. I think most everyone is trying to make sure all the available facts are posted and any errors are cleared up so those reading but not posting aren't working with misinformation. That becomes especially difficult with at least 3 active threads related to the topic.

[mkr]

Agreed, like I said, I thought I covered it.

I hope we have many out voting today!  We are so lucky to have this right!!

Have a great day all!!