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Council keeps Hadley Street transfer station hours and procedures amid contractor dispute
Summary
After a lengthy debate over staffing, safety and contract terms with operator Waste Connections, Portsmouthtown council voted 4–2 to maintain current transfer-station hours and operating procedures while town staff pursue implementation options and additional data collection.
Portsmouth — After more than two hours of public comment and council debate over contract language, safety and costs, the Portsmouth Town Council voted 4 to 2 on June 22 to keep the Hadley Street Transfer Stationoperating procedures and hours unchanged while the town implements a single‑operator model the council approved as part of its FY2027 budget decisions.
Town staff had told the council that Waste Connections, the station operator, raised concerns that moving from a two‑person to a single‑operator model would have "contractual, operational, labor, and safety" implications and had proposed accommodations such as lunch closures and revised entry cutoffs. Town Administrator Mr. Raynor summarized the contractorresponse and the operational adjustments Waste Connections said were needed to run safely with one on‑site staff member.
Supporters of maintaining the existing procedures argued the operator bid included an alternate with two staffers and that the contractor must comply with the hours it bid to deliver. The town solicitor said the contract language supports the counciloption to rescind the extra town‑funded position as a discretionary alternate, but acknowledged reasonable arguments on both sides about required operational accommodations and labor rules.
Opponents of the change warned of safety and service impacts: council members and residents described examples of heavy equipment moving while a single worker is on site and worried about longer customer waits or reduced hours. Several members suggested compromise approaches such as hiring a part‑time worker to cover lunch periods or using the maintenance fund to smooth the transition.
Council discussion also focused on budget tradeoffs. Staff reported the curbside enterprise fund had an identified deficit of roughly $250,000 that the council had voted to spread over two fiscal years; eliminating a second paid position would save roughly $84,000 and had been presented as a way to reduce the deficit without raising the sticker price beyond funds already publicized. Council members noted sticker sales and the enterprise fund structure limit how costs are absorbed.
On the motion to preserve the current operating procedures and explicitly keep the hours of operation intact, the motion carried 4–2. The council recorded that the transfer station will remain open Monday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
What happens next: Town staff and the operator will continue to coordinate implementation. Council members asked staff to supply monthly operational data (including gate logs and compactor pressure readings for Prudence Island loads) to support future decisions and directed the solicitor to review contract language and risk. The enterprise fund will bear any legal costs if the town and contractor litigate the interpretation of the alternate staffing option.
