Landfill willing to accept trash from Van Buren

VAN BUREN — Town officials received information Monday about a way to dispose of solid waste that was not available to the community until recently.

Kenneth Hensler, director of the Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill, told Van Buren officials that the landfill directors were willing to accept trash from the community.

Van Buren faces a deadline of Dec. 31 for closing its landfill and has yet to find a long-term solution to its trash-disposal problem.

Hensler said that when it was organized about 10 years ago, Tri-Community set specific parameters for a service area. Last month, however, “… we made the decision to more or less open the gates” and allow all Aroostook County towns who wanted to join to do so.

Tri-Community must close its unlined landfill. The landfill also did not handle enough trash to meet the state environmental agency’s slope requirements for closure. It either could pay to excavate and haul fill or charge fees and bury more trash.

The three founding communities — Fort Fairfield, Caribou and Limestone — and nine others who later came on board paid per-capita fees of varying levels.

Tri-Community officials agreed to charge latecomers $50 a ton until the unlined portion was closed. Hensler said he did not know what the cost will be after that. He said that depended on whether Tri-Community builds a secured landfill or if it choses a different method.

All profits, about $200,000 to date, were earmarked for development of a secure landfill at its existing site, if the plan is approved by environmental regulators.

He said the handling of recyclable material would be covered under a separate contract with Tri-Community, if Van Buren chose to go that route.

A rough cost estimate based on Van Buren’s current tonnage was $75,000 for tipping fees. Cost figures for a transfer station and hauling the trash were unavailable Monday but will add to the total price tag.

The cost of waste disposal would be less if Van Buren residents aggressively pursued recycling, which would reduce the amount of trash that went to the landfill, local officials said.

Van Buren officials earlier agreed to consider including areas it now served — Cyr Plantation and Township 17 Range 3 — in their plans. Those areas must make their own decisions and assume their own costs.

The council also heard from a delegation of ambulance attendants who were unhappy with changes in the reimbursement section of their department’s proposed rules and procedures.

Attendants said they preferred the method used for the past three years. They failed to see why a new method would be used when they all voted against it.

Among main concerns was a change under which part of their pay is a flat stipend to cover mileage, food and uniforms. They feared income tax problems. Also, they were concerned that the stipend would not be counted as regular income should a claim be filed with Workers’ Compensation.

Town officials said the pay change was an effort to maintain their status as paid volunteers as opposed to town employees.

The matter was tabled until stipend issues were sorted out.

Councilors approved an grant of industrial park, already approved by the Planning Board, for Carl Maldonado. The proposal will go to voters at the next town meeting.