Here’s a list of when Southborough’s municipal facilities will be closed for Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Southborough public schools
Early dismissal was Friday, December 20.
Closed through New Years; resuming on Thursday, January 2, 2020.
Southborough Town House, and Senior Center
Closed Tuesday, December 24 & Wednesday, December 25
Closed Wednesday, January 1
Southborough Library
Closed Tuesday, December 24 & Wednesday, December 25
Closing Early Tuesday, December 31st at 5:00 pm
Closed Wednesday, January 1
Transfer Station
Closed Wednesday, December 25 & Thursday, December 26
Closed Wednesday, January 1
(Photo by Susan Fitzgerald)
Really , the Transfer Station has to be closed the day before and the day after Christmas. Guess what in the real world businesses are open before and after Christmas. Believe it or not there are people who actually work off shifts and weekends who can not always make it to the dump on those days. Why not try something new and get people that will work other days and think about the tax payers. What about the fee we pay to use the transfer station. The fee that goes up yet we get nothing new for our money. Maybe it should be pro rated for the days we pay for it to be open yet it is not… Remember us we pay your salaries !!!!
Holy first world problems. Sounds like you’re use to everyone stopping what they’re doing to make sure everything is convenient for you.
The day before Christmas this year was Tuesday. Tuesday, a day of the week the transfer station is never open so complaining about it being closed a day is always closed is futile. As for the day after, I believe that is an observed holiday for the town. If so, that’s one day the transfer station is closed when it’s usually open out of 365. One….Day…. And judging by the already set scheduled, they have tried to appease everyone by being open from 6-6 weekdays and one weekend day. Sounds pretty accommodating to me.
Yes you pay their salaries, but the employees deserve days off, just like you.
Whoah – hold on just a minute. The Transfer Station (TS) is hardly open 365 days per year. It’s open WE – SA and closed SU, MO, and TU every week. So, it’s open 4 days per week, roughly 208 days per year, depending on holidays. This would contrast with ‘normal’ businesses, open roughly 260 days per year, depending on holidays
The original objection was that for the Christmas week it was closed both WE and TH, rather then just for the holiday, WE. Being open SA was hardly an appeasing move, as
that’s a day the TS is normally open.
I too found the TH closing puzzling, considering that most households would have extra trash generated by the unwrapping of gifts over the Judeo-Christian holidays. And, yes, it was very busy when the TS did open on the 27th – pent up demand, etc.
I noticed that the Library was open on the 26th as was the Senior Center. I think the Transfer Station was the only town funded operation that did not work on that day. And then, the TS workers and facilities get overwhelmed when they finally did open on the 27th. I agree with the above commenter: why not use some common sense and cover more times that would be convenient for more taxpayers?
Not taking a side – but just to clarify how decision has been justified by Public Works when this came up for past holidays. . . The Town House, Senior Center and Library were all closed on Tuesday, the 24th, giving those employees an extra day off for the holiday. The Transfer Station is normally closed on Tuesdays, so that extra day was given to those employees the day after.
I think it’s absurd for the “we pay your salaries” cry. So what- the transfer station was closed. Oh well – the trash can wait another day. Let people be with their families for the holidays. When people are getting angry over the dump being closed, I think they need to find a new hobby.
The real problem with the transfer station hours is not the occasional holiday for the staff but the inconvenience of the regular hours to working families all year long. When I was a stay at home mom, I had no problem getting to the dump on a weekday. I could go anytime Wednesday through Friday and breeze through in 5 minutes. Now, that my husband and I both work full time, getting there on a Saturday (the busiest day for most families) is very difficult and there is usually a line to pull up to the hopper and major congestion in the recycling area. Why are the hours so inconvenient to working families who I assume comprise a large percentage (if not a majority) of the transfer station’s customer base? If the town can’t find a way to fund the operation of the transfer station for more than 4 days a week why not have it open for two weekdays and then Saturday and Sunday so that access to the station is more equitable to the various town demographics that it serves?
Maybe it isn’t inconvenient for some but I do think it can be inconvenient when this service is only available 4 days per week in normal times. This past week, it was only open for two of the ten days between 12/23 and 1/01.
I have no qualms about town employees getting holidays but I also would have no qualms over DPW hiring a couple of part timers to keep the TS open more often.