As Marion prepares for its transition from town-operated curbside trash and recycling to its new private curbside collection company, Waste Management, Town Administrator Jay McGrail gave the Marion Board of Selectmen an update on July 16 on what residents should expect in the upcoming weeks.
Waste Management will assume the curbside collection on August 1, beginning first with manual collection of residents’ existing privately owned barrels before it switches to the automated trucks.
McGrail said, at first, trash collection would appear “exactly the same” as it currently does. “It just won’t be our (the town’s) guys and our trucks,” said McGrail.
The new trash and recycling bins will be delivered to residents during the week of August 26, and the automated curbside pickup using those bins will start September 2.
The pickup schedule will remain as it is now, determined by the current pickup schedule, with trash every week and recycling every other week.
McGrail said this week the town will be releasing a digital version of an informational flyer on the town website followed by the mailing of a paper copy in the mail. A more comprehensive mailer will be sent out to residents the week just prior to the scheduled bin delivery that will include more detailed information along with a printed calendar of pickups for the coming months.
The town will hold a public informational forum on the new curbside collection service on Wednesday, August 14, at 6:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street.
McGrail also provided some clarification on commercial pickup versus residential pickup, explaining that currently the town services 12 commercial locations and will continue to do so by ‘grandfathering’ those 12 locations into the new collection service. However, should one of those 12 businesses require an additional trash receptacle, that extra bin would have to be purchased and an additional fee in the form of a sticker would be charged for the additional bin collection. Otherwise, these 12 businesses will not be charged any further fees as long as they “live within the residential allotment,” McGrail said, which is one trash and one recycling bin per deed.
Also, if you answered the Town’s poll on your preference for trash and recycling bin colors, the winning colors were green for trash, and blue for recycling.
In other business, the board interviewed Jayson Reynolds and Albin Johnson, applicants for the Board of Health seat vacated by resigned BOH member Betsy Dunn, and both former members of the Board of Health.
The board will interview another applicant, Dot Brown, during the August 13 meeting and take a vote that night on their chosen candidate.
In other matters, Town Planner Gil Hilario gave the board an update on the development of a Green Community projects list prioritizing how the Town will spend its $132,672 in grant money.
Hilario said the list includes a new gas boiler for Fire Station 1, a demand control ventilation system at Sippican School, and a conversion to LED lighting at the school.
The high efficiency boiler, costing $55,000, will save the Town roughly $2,800 a year, said Hilario, and the ventilation system, $14,520, should save the Town $7,200 a year. The LED lights costing $66,000 will save the Town about $22,000 a year on utilities, said Hilario.
Once these funds are spent, the Town is eligible to reapply for further Green Communities grants next year. Hilario hopes to see some Green Community grant money cover some future significant energy efficiency projects at the Town House.
Police Chief John Garcia requested “No Parking” signs be placed on one side of Park Street and signs on the Planting Island Cove causeway, known to the locals as “Clam Road,” that will read “Privilege Sticker Required” and “No Parking/Tow Zone,” which the board approved pending final approval of the exact language of the signs.
The board voted to appoint McGrail as the Records Access Officer, and appointed Peter Douglas to the Historical Commission.
The Town House will be closing early on Thursday, August 15, to allow Town House employees time to clean out the clutter in their offices.
The next regular meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for August 6 at 7:00 pm at the Marion police station, and will need to hold additional meetings on August 13, August 20, and August 27, all at 7:00 pm and all located at the police station.
Marion Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry