By Mary Macedo, Neighb News Correspondent
At its meeting on Wednesday, 3/25 the Fairhaven Board of Public Works met with the landfill engineer about the new recycling center location, and also discussed recycling center hours during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the state mandated restrictions the meeting was held at Town Hall and was broadcast on Fairhaven TV, as well as on Zoom which is a m meeting application that allows residents to video or call in to give public comments.
Public works superintendent Vinnie Furtado introduced landfill engineer Sam Chapin to the board, noting that he has done work for the town since the late 1980’s.
Mr. Furtado explained that the town recycling center is used for people to dispose of yard waste, and is currently located behind the wastewater treatment plant on Arsene Street. He said that due to the WWTP needing a complete renovation, it is very likely that the recycling center will need to be moved.
Mr. Furtado said that they have looked at many locations for the recycling center, but the only location that seems to be available is the old landfill on Bridge Street.
He said the board had questions about the process that would need to be followed to use that area, and a how much clean-up would be needed and how much it may cost.
BPW Chairperson Brian Wotton asked Mr. Chapin if the landfill was suitable for the plans, of if something needed to be done to it that was not done when it was closed.
Mr. Chapin explained that he has been involved with the Bridge Street landfill for many years. The area has waste disposed in it that is underneath the ground, which is what makes the area a problem.
He explained that the landfill started in the 1930’s from the debris of the 1935 hurricane and was then turned into a dump, then later became a sanitary landfill.
In the 1990’s a third party wanted to excavate and sort the waste and take out the decades worth of waste, which was a very big project. The Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not want that to be done and since the 2000’s there has been no more talk with the state about using the property.
Mr. Chapin said that right now there would need to be an assessment done of the land and a year of ground water monitoring, as well a quantitative and qualitative risk assessment, and then clean up and close the landfill with a cap.
Mr. Chapin also noted that there have been many changes since the 1990’s on how the state handles these situations. He said it would be worthwhile to go to the state and ask what it would take to be able to put the recycling center there.
Mr. Wotton explained that no buildings would need to be put on the land. They would just like to clear a portion of the land for residents to dump brush and leaves and a couple of dumpsters for TVs, refrigerators, and other recyclables. There would be no need for digging or excavating, they would just want to scrape the land that is there currently and build up on top of it.
Mr. Chapin suggested installing pavement there to separate from the waste because the old waste can create poor air quality.
Board member Robert “Hoppy: Hobson said that the current recycling center is only about one acre and everything would be above ground.
Mr. Chapin said he would be happy to give the board a written proposal to take to the state, including information about space needed, where cars would park and just a basic outline of what the area would look like.
Mr. Furtado explained that he contacted DEP employee Colleen Ferguson about how much the cost of cleaning up the landfill would be and she explained that the Fairhaven Police and Fire Departments inquired about building a safety complex on the landfill. That quote for cleanup was $9 million.
However, Mr. Chapin explained that building a safety complex on the property would require a lot of digging and excavating, which is why they would need the full $9 million.
The recycling center would probably not require any digging or excavating, so he did not think that the BPW would need to do a full clean up of the site.
The board voted to have Mr. Chapin put a proposal together, and the board will visit the site to decide how much space would be needed.
In another matter the board discussed keeping the recycling center open during the COVID-19 pandemic even though it is not considered an essential business.
Mr. Wotton said that the recycling center should stay open the half day on Wednesday for now and decide on it week to week.
Mr. Hobson explained that a lot of people have been asking to keep the recycling center open because a lot of residents are not working and are taking the time to clean their yards, garages etc. and they have things to take to the recycling center.
He said he was at the recycling center at 10 a.m. and there were 50–100 people lined up in their cars.
He the recycling center should stay on the same Wednesday and Saturday schedule that it is currently on. The employee stays in his car to practice social distancing and the residents dispose of their items one at a time and leave,
Mr. Wotton said that the virus is a very serious situation. He suggested staying open longer on Wednesday, that way they can eliminate asking an employee to work on a Saturday.
Mr. Hobson said about the people who work during the week and need to go on Saturdays.
“I can go to Stop & Shop, Wal-Mart, the package store…..I hardly ever go,” Mr. Hobson said laughing. “And you’re trying to tell me people can’t go to the recycling center.”
Mr. Coelho said he agreed with Mr. Hobson, that there are people that have their life on the line working all week, and the center should be open on Saturdays for those people.
Mr. Wotton said he agreed that they should be taking care of the people in the medical field and grocery store workers, but they work weekends too. He said he agreed the center should stay open, but the town wanted to close it completely.
Mr. Wotton said he would like it to stay open on its regular Wednesday and Saturday schedule. He explained that he was just trying to make a compromise and have it one day open to make the town happy and limit the center, rather than having the town close it.
Mr. Wotton also said he wanted to make sure the employee stays safe because he does not want that employee to get sick because of the board’s decision to keep the recycling center open. He said he wants the employee to stay in his car and point the resident to the correct pile. Residents must also keep a line of cars and only one car at the pile disposing at a time.
During the board’s discussion a resident called in for public comment on Zoom. Resident Kathleen Isaksen explained that she called the BPW to get a permit for the recycling center and she was told to send a check and a copy of her registration in the mail and then the BPW will mail a permit.
Ms. Isaksen asked how she would be able to get the permit in time to go to the recycling center on Saturday.
Mr. Furtado explained that the office is closed and that public is not allowed in the building to protect the public and employees from the virus.
Mr. Wotton suggested that her name be put on a list at the recycling center so she will be allowed to dispose of her debris. Mr. Wotton told Ms. Isaksen to send out her mailed items like she was told to and then show up to the recycling center Saturday and show the registration to the guard at a safe distance, and her name will be on a list to be allowed in.
Mr. Wotton said that if any other residents needs assistance with the same issue to call and give their name and mail in the necessary items.
Going back to the board’s discussion about the recycling center hours, Mr. Durant said that the center cannot be compared to an essential business like a grocery store. He said you need food but you do not need to dump debris.
Mr. Hobson asked why half of the Highway, Sewer, and Water employees are not working if they are considered essential by the governor.
Mr. Furtado explained that they are following suit with other communities. Half of the employees work every other week and the other half are on call. It is done that way so the employees are separated into two different groups, so if one employee gets sick in one group and infects that group the town still has half the employees that can still work.
Mr. Hobson said that half the employees are at home and we are paying them to sit at home.
Mr. Furtado said either way we pay them or they get paid through unemployment. There are three choices, he said: All the employees come in nd all get sick, no employees come in, or half the employees come every other week and one half of the employees get sick. Mr. Furtado said half is the smartest choice.
Mr. Hobson said the Water, Sewer, Highway employees are considered essential like Stop & Shop and they do not only have half their employees working.
Mr. Furtado countered that he is not in charge of Stop & Shop, and that the town is going to pay the employees no matter what. He noted that they would be violating the governor guidelines by leaving the recycling center open because it is not considered essential, although personally, he said, it did not bother him to keep the it open.
Mr. Wotton said the virus is only going to get worse with more things that are open. He said he agreed with what Mr. Furtado was doing with the employees.
Mr. Wotton also said he agreed with Mr. Hobson that the recycling center should stay open, but if the employee at the recycling center gets sick it is on the board. He said he did not think anyone wanted that on their shoulders.
The board voted 4-1 to keep the Wednesday and Saturday regular hours until further notice. Mr. Durant voted “no.”
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