For the editor:
Do you miss having the transfer station on River Road open on Saturdays? Our city is facing several issues regarding the transfer station and all of us residents need to help solve them.
Although the regular Saturday closures were partially caused by the Christmas and New Year holidays falling on that day and sub-zero temperatures, which make it very dangerous for anyone to have to stay outside to receive customers for eight hours, there are other issues that need to be resolved before it can open again.
The two employees quit mainly because of the verbal abuse they received from some customers who come to dump their trash and recyclables there. At the recent town council meeting, we heard of people dragging trash into the recycling trailer so they don’t have to pay the small fee to throw it into the required trailer. We also heard of people complaining that these nominal fees were too high and, in a few cases, throwing them on the floor in protest. The commercial carrier is now charging the city for separating the trash from the recycled materials in this trailer.
The job of a station attendant isn’t an easy job on a good day, but when you also have to be an accountant, a policeman, and a garbage inspector, and take verbal abuse from the public, it’s no wonder the attendants quit their job. The fact that our town is blessed with a transfer station a short drive from most residences is very fortunate. Now that it’s closed, we can all drive to Lake Clear or Lake Placid or hire a commercial carrier to come to us. After some time dealing with this, we should all realize how bad we are dealing with having our own transfer station near our home.
The city council was considering council members taking alternate weeks to work at the transfer station in the absence of anyone applying for the position, but I suggested that they not run for the position of council member. city council to take on the work at the transfer station as one of their duties more than they should be snow removal, operating the sewage plant or the skating rink and I asked them to close the transfer station until that they can hire at least two people to work there on Saturdays and make sure the public abides by the rules and fees or not be allowed to come. There is currently an advertisement in the newspaper looking for new employees and there will be a public hearing on February 2 at 6 p.m., and I invite anyone interested in the matter to come to the remote site and to participate in the discussion. Let’s not let a few ruin our ability to have a local transfer station.
Yours sincerely,
Sandy Hayes
Bloomingdale’s