09/15/2014

Capital 'stewardship' plan eyes study of Transfer Station, Recycling Center in 2016

The Town Council on Sept. 8 approved a 10-year capital improvement plan for the town that includes a $25,000 proposal to plan for improvements to the Transfer Station and Recycling Center.

A 10-year plan for capital improvements has been an annual Town Council goal in recent years. "It still might be adjusted somewhat between now and when the budget's done, but I think it's a good guide as you look at your future budgets," McGovern said.

The plan outlines $1.1 million worth of recommended projects for fiscal 2016, featuring a $25,000 study of the Transfer Station and Recycling Center. The $1.6 million plan for 2017 calls for $300,000 to modernize the facility. "We were planning to replace some of the compacting equipment and hopper in FY 2016 but it is clear that the site has more challenges than just the condition of the compactor," McGovern said in a memo to the Town Council. "It is proposed to undertake a study of the property and program to determine options for the future," he said.

The Transfer Station and Recycling Center in its current form was established in 1978, 36 years ago, McGovern said.

"Traffic over there's a mess," McGovern told councilors at the Sept. 8 meeting. "It used to be, people would go in, they'd back in (next to the hopper). Now everyone is all over the place - they're backing in, they're going in the front too, they're walking across the parking lot. Someone's going to get killed there," McGovern he said.

An alternative might be a system where trash goes in to the hopper by conveyor belt, he said. "Anyway, it's something you're going to be hearing more about," McGovern told councilors.

The capital improvement, or "capital stewardship" plan, continues regular investment of an additional $100,000 annually for roads, buildings and equipment. Two bonds are proposed for the next 10 years: $500,000 in fiscal 2017 and $961,000 in 2019. "The bond issues will be for less than the retiring debt, so the trend for principal owed will still decline," McGovern's memo says.

No funds are proposed for library improvements because it assumes the library bond will pass this Nov. 4.

The largest chunk of the $1.1 million recommended for 2016 addresses roadway and drainage, based on the pavement management plan completed in July 2013. It calls for shim and overlay of Old Ocean House Road ($250,000); shim and overlay of Spurwink Avenue east, which was deferred from 2015 ($80,000); overlay of local roads ($80,000); and, miscellaneous paving, draining and materials, ($25,000), for a total estimate of $435,000.