Residents Scrutinize Transfer Station Hours

The Board of Selectmen heard complaints from several residents on July 23 about the recently adopted Transfer Station hours, with many upset about the three-day stretches where the facility is not open.

Planning Board member Carolyn Webber delivered a petition to the board, which she said was compiled with 76 signatures in under three days.

"The Transfer Station hours are not in the best interest of the public," she said. "More people are complaining. I had people come to my house to sign the petition."

With the recent changes, the facility is open Wednesday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. That leaves the gap of Sunday through Tuesday where it's closed, and Webber said that many who have weekend parties have to wait to dispose of trash during that time off.

Dick Ford, another resident, showed the most emotion at the meeting, saying that the attitude has shifted from the needs of the taxpayers to the needs of the town.

"It appears to me at least that you are catering to the budget and the employees of the Transfer Station and not to the taxpayers and not to the people with trash," he said. "That's the impression I get and I don't think I'm that wrong with it.

Ford explained how the town dump was open on Sundays when he was growing up, which was a much more resident-friendly service.

"This is a service that we're offering to the people of town and if we can't offer them the proper service then we've got a lot of problems," Ford said.

Barbara Coish also told the board that lines on Wednesday's are out the door, which she thinks is caused by the three days off in a row.

"It really was not pleasant," she said. "You should be able to go in and drop your things off and not be 15 minutes in line."

Phyllis Churchill called the hours a "safety problem" for the community, but did not elaborate. Another resident described how the trash sitting for three days draws animals and creates an unsanitary situation for the town.

Board Vice Chair Ross McLeod suggested having Transfer Station Manager Dave Poulson take a look at the hourly volume of usage to give the town an idea of how many people are going in and out.

Fellow board member Phil LoChiatto suggested using a traffic counter from the Windham Police Department, which Police Chief Gerald Lewis said was not a problem.

Board Chair Bruce Breton suggested a schedule where the facility is open all seven days, with six hour shifts each day. That way, he said, the hourly total would only increase from 40 to 42.

Board member Kathleen DiFruscia said she was open to sitting down with Poulson to address the hours to better serve the public.

Roger Hohenberger rounded out the board support for looking into the matter and working on a solution.

"I think we really need to address (the hours) because I've heard this and I agree," he said. "I think three days off in a row isn't working."

Hohenberger also added that he has seen the lines die off on Saturday at noon, bringing up the point that maybe there doesn't need to be 10-hour shifts.