Greenville to remain with Waste Management

GREENVILLE — After town officials looked at several options, Greenville will continue to contract with Waste Management for municipal solid waste disposal. The community’s five-year contract with Waste Management expires in March.

“This is a big ticket item for us. Obviously municipal waste is one of our higher budgeted items,” Select Board Chairperson Geno Murray said during a meeting on Dec. 7.

Town Manager Mike Roy had spent several months researching municipal waste and had previously told the board about a notice from Waste Management concerning price increases. Per state law, the cost of municipal solid waste disposal has gone up $1 per ton and demolition waste will rise $3 a ton starting Jan. 1, 2023.

Greenville had spent nearly $40,000 on tipping fees by the end of September, Roy said.

 “Tipping is basically just getting rid of trash at the facilities,” Roy said, mentioning that the amount of waste has gone down with the conclusion of the summer season.

“Our current contract with Waste Management expires in March so I’m trying to be proactive,” the town manager said. “I reached out to three companies that will take out waste.”

Waste Management and Penobscot Energy Recovery Company both got back to the town with proposals.

Roy said Waste Management provided another five-year proposal with a fixed annual increase of 5 percent. For PERC, the rate is adjusted each April based on the consumer price index.

He said Waste Management is the lower of the two, by about $6 per ton from nearly $80 to about $85.

“So basically this would be a continuation with the same amount with the same group,” Murray said. He then asked if the town has had issues with trash items not being accepted.

Roy said an entire load of tires will not be accepted by Waste Management, but that is it for restrictions Greenville has encountered. He said the town has experienced “no issue with Waste Management whatsoever.”

“I don’t like a 5 percent increase every year but at least we know what it’s going to be,” Selectperson Richard Peat said. “We can budget for it.”

In other business, the board heard an update from Destination Moosehead Lake Executive Director Allison Arbo on happenings over the last year for the official tourism organization of the Moosehead Lake region.

Arbo handed out copies of a recently reprinted area map that includes tips on area recreation opportunities for residents and visitors alike. She said the reprint was funded through an enterprise grant with the Maine Office of Tourism and 15,000 copies were printed.

“We went through and did some editing and had the folks at a couple of different mapping places take a look to make sure the maps and roads on the map were still up to date and current,” Arbo said.

Destination Moosehead Lake board member Margarita Contreni said 15,000 maps are distributed in about a year and a half. “It flies off the shelf in the visitor’s center,” she said.

In 2022 Destination Moosehead Lake welcomed 15 new members and had an 89 percent retention rate. Arbo said the visitor’s center had 6,166 people passing through the doors, 644 more than in 2021.

She said the organization was part of six community events and two of its own, while also assisting with Forest Heritage Days in August and the International Seaplane Fly-In in September. 

In 2023 Destination Moosehead Lake officials hope to offer more for Moose Mainea — last year featured 5K and 10K road races — and be part of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Dark Sky Festival.

Surveys will go out to stakeholders to start the strategic planning process. Arbo said they will be “finding out what and why people want to be members with us and finding out what services we should be providing for the community and small businesses and just getting some insight on what people think.”

Community members and visitors will also be surveyed.

Several weeks after the board approved a municipal lease purchase through Androscoggin Bank for a new public works truck, Roy said the dealer the town is buying its new vehicle from has no interest in the old model as a trade-in.

Instead, the truck will be put up for sale, but after permission is obtained via a special town meeting vote. The sale of town property for more than $5,000 needs the approval of residents. The vote may be taken prior to the Wednesday, Jan. 4, select board meeting.

Roy said the planning board will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, on the proposed rezoning of five adjacent lots on the East Road, just after the Stagecoach Road, from the rural district to the rural development 2 district. The adjustment would allow the lots to be built upon if purchased, and the potential change could also be voted on by residents at the Jan. 4 special town meeting.

Planning Board Chair John Contreni said the parcel is continuous with other rural development 2 properties.

“I think the banners and wreaths look very nice going across town,” Peat said in thanking everyone who put these up.

When asked about the possibility of banners for other seasons, Arbo said, “We would love to have more, so we will be looking at that.”

“For me it’s not just for people coming from away, it’s people coming back home, it’s people coming to their second homes so it would be nice to have those welcoming signs,” she said. Arbo said the banner brackets would remain up, so a portion of costs are already covered.