Warren County adds driver position, removes mechanic as compost pilot waits on state approvals

Warren County’s Public Works Committee approved creating a new transfer‑station driver position and deleting an auto‑mechanic role to ease rising summer workloads at county transfer stations.

The measure, moved by Mister Strainer and seconded by Mister Merlino, passed on a voice vote. Committee members were told the auto‑mechanic position became vacant after the incumbent retired; that position’s salary was stated as about $72,000, while the starting base salary for the proposed driver position was cited as $51,890. The change was described by staff as producing a net savings while increasing collection capacity.

The staffing decision came as county solid‑waste staff updated the committee on a separate compost pilot funded by a New York State Climate Smart Communities grant. Scott, a Solid Waste staff member, said the county received notice of the grant award in January but has not executed the state contract. “We think once we have the green light, it'll be about 3 months before we actually start accepting food scraps,” Scott said. He added the county is waiting for the state to complete contract execution and approval of the work plan and budget before starting the pilot.

Committee members heard that up to four drop‑off sites were contemplated under the grant language. Scott and Kevin, both Solid Waste staff members, reported that Queensbury transfer station has agreed to be a drop‑off site and that Lake George’s highway superintendent expressed support. Staff said other potential sites under discussion included St. Mary’s in Glens Falls, Warrensburg and possibly Bolton, but that only the transfer stations explicitly confirmed were final at this time.

County staff described the homeowner participation model: a resident who signs up would receive a 5‑gallon bucket, bring it to a locked or code‑secured container at a participating transfer station, and county personnel would collect and haul the material to the county compost facility for processing. Staff said pickup frequency and operational cadence will be determined after receiving material and assessing volumes.

The project’s chosen property for compost processing — a parcel on Stonequari Road east of the airport — must undergo a DEC jurisdictional parcel determination under new wetland rules that took effect in January 2025. Scott said the online jurisdictional determination process was not available until recently; he has submitted the county’s request and noted the DEC has 90 days to respond. He described the statutory sequence staff was given: if the DEC does not respond in 90 days, the county must send a certified letter and then wait 10 days; if the DEC still does not respond the county may be waived for five years from additional steps. Scott said staff expects the parcel determination will be approved but that the timeline is within the project schedule.

Committee members pressed for practical details about operations, including who would collect containers. Scott said either the county’s contracted container hauler or county personnel with the department’s rack truck would perform pickups. Kevin added the county is aiming for an efficient routing plan and acknowledged travel time constrains how many sites can be served in a single run.

No formal action was taken on the compost pilot itself during the meeting; staff said they will proceed once the state contract is executed and the DEC determination is resolved.

The committee’s approval to reclassify the vacant auto‑mechanic position to a driver was the only formal staffing action taken at the start of the meeting. The committee also advised staff to continue coordinating drop‑off site agreements and to return with operational details once the state returns contract documentation.