Laconia ready to help if Gilford seeks to build transfer station

Shane Walter unloads wood chips for recycling at the Gilford Recycling Center Friday. Located at 150 Kimball Road, Gilford's recycling center could become the new home of a transfer station, based on a warrant article before voters in March. (David Carkhuff/The Laconia Daily Sun)

By DAVID CARKHUFF/THE LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — If Gilford voters choose next month to build a solid waste transfer station, Laconia will prepare to lose roughly $45,000 in annual revenue.

Laconia and Gilford are in a solid waste district, and Laconia charges Gilford a per-ton fee for administration and use of the Laconia Transfer Station, located at 385 Meredith Center Road, Laconia.

At the deliberative session of Town Meeting on Wednesday, voters forwarded Article 6, calling for borrowing of $950,000 in bonds to improve the town's recycling center and the creation of a solid waste transfer station. A three-fifths vote is required for passage on voting day, which is March 14.

Wes Anderson, Public Works director for Laconia, said the cost of the contract varies, but the fee to Gilford typically is $45,000 a year based off of tonnage. The solid waste district agreement obligated Gilford to pay Laconia about $66,000 toward the cost of improvements to Laconia's transfer station, but that obligation has been met, Anderson said.

Loss of the contract is something that Anderson and City Manager Scott Myers will deal with if and when the time comes, Anderson said.

"It's at least halfway through the next fiscal year and maybe further. It's not something that's imminent," he said.

The drop in revenue would affect the city's $1.7 million solid waste budget, which includes fees to take trash down to the Concord Regional Solid Waste Resource Recovery Cooperative, which operates a waste-to-energy incinerator to dispose of the solid waste of 27 communities, he said. Gilford's departure from the solid waste district would require Laconia to adjust its budget.

"We're planning for them to part just in case they decide to, but it's not an imminent issue just because of construction time," Anderson said.

Also, if interest were there, Anderson said he would be available to "share lessons learned" by Laconia in its establishment of a transfer station and help Gilford with the process.

"Why reinvent the wheel? You can always learn from what we've already done," he said.

The Gilford Recycling Center, located at 150 Kimball Road, Gilford, could accommodate the transfer station on a higher section of land, officials said.

The Gilford Recycling Center. (David Carkhuff/Laconia Daily Sun)