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Council affirms treasurer's warrant and discusses transfer station leaf disposal changes after resident complaint
Summary
Council approved the treasurer's warrant including a line for leaf-hauling work and discussed a recent operational change at the transfer station that stops town pickup of leaves; staff said hauling costs since July total about $23,700.
The South Berwick Town Council approved the treasurer’s warrant for $960,472.41 and discussed recent operational changes at the transfer station affecting leaf and grass-clipping disposal.
At a roll-call vote the council adopted the treasurer’s warrant. Council members then addressed a resident email from Martin Bolger of 7 Crescent Court expressing concern over a new transfer station policy that no longer accepts leaves for town pickup. Town Manager Tim said the change was an operational decision made after a months-long review intended to save money, and that the transfer station remains open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon and during the week.
In response to a citizen complaint, the town asked the finance director and system manager to calculate the previous 12 months of hauling costs related to an outside contractor, Doucet Excavating. Tim reported that "since July 1, it's 23,700," referring to dollars spent hauling material attributable to Doucet, and clarified that figure does not include work done by the highway crew. He said that based on that figure the town decided to end the town-provided leaf pickup and direct residents to drop leaves at the transfer station or other locations.
Tim said the town did not conduct a public input process before making this operational change because staff considered it an operational decision, but he invited council input if residents raise ongoing concerns. The council recorded no further formal action on the leaf policy during the meeting.
