Pittsfield receives recycling grant of $67,500

PITTSFIELD — Congratulations and explanations on the receipt of a state recycling grant were shared at the Tuesday night meeting of the Pittsfield Town Council.

According to Town Manager Dwight Dogherty, the town will receive $67,500 of the requested $78,750 grant application for expansion of the town’s recycling center. The grant money, he said, will trim the total project to $90,000 from its original $105,000 estimate. He was not aware where the state may have trimmed the project to justify the lesser amount.

Although councilors granted authorization for Dogherty to solicit quotations for expansion of the recycling operation, a Department of Environmental Protection application process has caused a temporary delay. The DEP requires a permit procedure for expansion of the operation.

In conjunction with the recycling project, Dogherty said 17 other towns will participate in the Pittsfield center. He reported that most of the recyclables received from those towns will be sorted. However, he also said 70 percent of local trash is not separated into recyclables.

He also detailed the pieces of equipment planned for purchase, including box trailers and road-tractor units for transporting newspaper.

Councilors questioned how recycling will be implemented in the community.

Councilor Robert Downs said, “If 70 percent of our trash is coming in with commercial haulers without recycling, we need to be more aggressive about recycling.”

Dogherty remained optimistic that local people are, and will be, cooperative in recycling efforts. He expects to study the feasibility of curbside pickup for recyclables.

He said, “We have to get people acclimated to home separation of the recyclables.”

He explained that recycling coordinator Mathys Van Dam is providing programs in the schools to educate the next generation as well as to try to achieve some effect on parents. Two local service groups have provided fliers in recent months on the importance of recycling.

“It’s hard to pick a paper these days that doesn’t have something about recycling,” he said. “I think people will become team players.”

Councilors chose to defer action on a management plan for the Pittsfield Housing Rehabilitation Revolving Loan Fund by tabling it. Councilor Yvonne Young raised several questions about interpreting the plan and urged councilors to study the plan further. She also suggested reviewing it with the advisory committee for the fund.

Dogherty expressed optimism that the fund may grow if an application to the Farmers Home Administration for $60,000 is successful. He reported that the Maine State Housing Authority had expressed interest in matching the grant.

An ordinance to increase the time between the preparation of the council agenda and the scheduled meeting was set to hearing at the March 20 meeting. Also, an ordinance authorizing a bond issue for replacement for the Crawford Road bridge was set to hearing at the same meeting.