Belmont Selectmen approve junk yard ordinance; switch to Waste Management for trash pickup

After spending several hours at their regular meeting yesterday afternoon engaged in a general discussion of departmental budgets, the Belmont Board of Selectmen held a four and one-half minute public hearing on a new ‘green’ junk yard ordinance before unanimously adopting it.

The three selectmen then agonized over the bids for trash and recycling collections before awarding a five-year agreement to Waste Management.

After a longer discussion, the three member board agreed to a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to modification of the fence between the Police Department/Old Corner Meeting House parking lot and the adjacent playground. The so-called Sargent Park Gate, which is easily left open, has allowed bicyclists, motorcyclists, and even cars to use the parking lot as a dangerous short-cut.

Park department officials have arranged for the installation of a barrier-type of opening in the fence that will allow people to go from the parking lot to the park and vice-versa. Vehicles, including bicycles, will not fit through the opening. Though skeptical, the selectmen agreed to give the proposed ‘barrier’ opening a try.

Discussion of the proposed automobile junk yard ordinance was almost a formality, since it has been on the agenda for several previous meetings. As explained by Code Enforcement Officer Steven Dalton, the new ordinance tracks, almost to the word, the requirements of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services best practices for motor vehicle recycling yards.

For example, there are detailed requirements for the recovery and disposal of fuel, used oil and oil filters, antifreeze, solvents, refrigerants, solid waste such as tires, mercury switches, fuel tanks and filters, and batteries. The new provisions also deal with the storage, dismantling, and crushing of end-of-life vehicles. The ordinance also references DES best management practices governing above and below ground storage tanks at junk and auto recycling yards.

There are five auto junk yard operators in Belmont.

Frank Blaney of Blaney Auto Crushing, LLC, of Farmington, NH, and the Blaney Junk Yard on Hurricane Road in Belmont, along with Don Rogers of Belmont Auto Salvage, were the two junk yard owners present for the public hearing and subsequent discussion. While neither spoke during the hearing, the both agreed to the proposal in comments they made as they left the meeting.

Following unanimous approval of the ordinance, Selectman Jon Pike moved to increase the junk yard license fee from $25 to $50. During the discussion of that motion, Dalton suggested a license fee of $100 which would be waived upon an owner’s proof of compliance with the NH DES’s Best Management Practices for Motor Vehicle Recyclers. Such compliance results in a yard being designated as ‘green’. “I think the potential of having the annual fee waived would provide an incentive for compliance,” he said. The three selectmen agreed and approved a motion to set the fee at $100 with the waiver provision.

After several discussions over the course of several meetings of the bids for curbside trash and recycling collection submitted by Waste Management and Bestway Disposal, one of which resulted in the board asking the two companies to submit bids for five year contracts, the selectmen were still in a quandary over which proposal to accept.

Bestway has been the town’s curbside collection contractor for the past several years. It also operates a trash drop-off facility in the town for the convenience of homeowners. Waste Management’s five-year prices for both curbside trash and recycling collection were noticeably lower than Bestway’s. In addition, Bestway offered only dual stream recycling collection, while the Waste Management recycling proposal called for single-stream collection.

Town Administrator Jeanne Beaudin reminded the selectmen that the tipping fee at the Penacook trash to electricity incinerator was going to increase from slightly more than $45 per ton to at least $65 per ton. She noted that the tipping fee at the planned single stream recycling center proposed by the Concord Regional Solid Waste/Resource Recovery Cooperative could be as low at $30 per ton after facility revenues are taken into account.

Noting that the current contract with Bestway expires on December 31, Chairman Ron Cormier pressed for a decision. Selectman David Morse moved acceptance of the Waste Management bid. The board unanimously approved that motion.