In the open thread this week, there was a discussion about which days the Transfer Station should be open. Many of you lobbied for additional weekend time, namely Sundays. After their meeting on Tuesday, I asked the selectmen what they thought of the idea.
Not surprisingly, the issue comes down to money. Chairman Sal Giorlandino said being open on Sundays “doesn’t make fiscal sense” because the Transfer Station employee would have to be paid overtime, possibly at double the rate.
The Transfer Station is currently open 40 hours a week, and Selectman Bill Boland said that adding another day would necessitate taking hours away elsewhere.
The current Transfer Station hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Boland said the board has considered other proposals in the past, like doing five 8-hour days (Tues-Sat) instead of four 10-hour days, but they opted for the current schedule because it gives people who work during the week time before and after work to get to the Transfer Station.
The town negotiated an agreement with the union to get out of paying overtime for the 10-hour days.
“To increase the hours and pay more overtime is not a good idea,” Boland said. “We’re doing everything we can just to keep it open the hours it’s open.”
The selectmen don’t have any current plans to revisit Transfer Station operating hours, but that could all change with some initiative on your part. If you want selectmen to consider changing the hours, all you have to do is request a public hearing on the matter. And that’s as easy as sending an email to the selectmen.
Payroll, liabilities, and other issues will crop up immediately. I feel bad for folks who throw a party on Saturday and can’t get to the Transfer Station until Wednesday, but just like the rest of us, you’ll have to suck it up. Also, check around…..I don’t think you’ll find any municipal transfer station open on Sunday.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday would be an improvement. At least weekend trash could be out of the house two days earlier.
To many Mon. holidays they would have to close for. Then there would be more complaints. Just leave well enough alone. We have had these days/hrs. for who knows how long now.
What about shifting the hours, i.e. Fri/Sat/Sun? Eliminate Wed & Thu to balance the cost? To me, just because that’s the way it’s always been done is a great reason to revisit it…times have changed, the population has increased 30% in the past few years, we have a much different environment.
Just shift Monday to Thursday when there is a holiday. There aren’t that many. Beats rotting trash hanging around for three days during the summer.
This is what we have been doing for years : Compost any food scraps,vegetable and fruit(not meat). Freeze any meat scraps and meat containers that can’t be recycled til “Dump Day”. It will help to eliminate the smelly trash problem in the summer and year round.
Could the recycling center open on Sunday if it were staffed by volunteers?
Another vote for M – W – F – Sat. I almost never go to the dump on Thursdays. I would love to have lobster this summer but I can’t stand the thought of those shells hanging around until Wednesday.
Don’t throw out the shells. Save them up in a big ziploc bag in the freezer and then make lobster stock. It’s like liquid gold!
Oh, and I meant shift Monday to Tuesday in my comment above.