JAY — Selectmen voted Monday to have a cement pad installed at the transfer station for a compactor to compress recyclables. The town crew will do most of the installation for the pad.

Selectmen voted at their last meeting to move forward on single-sort recycling that will allow residents to put recyclables, including No. 1 through No. 7 plastics, juice cartons and other items not currently recycled in Jay, in the same container to be emptied into the compactor.

The board had previously authorized the committee working on recycling and solid waste to order a truck that will have compartments for both recyclables and trash. The truck cost about $170,000, which will come from the transfer capital reserve account, Town Manager Ruth Cushman, a member of the committee, said.

Selectman Tim DeMillo, a member of the committee who has been riding the trash and recyclable curbside routes to see how they work, said the truck will take about eight to 10 months to arrive.

Currently, the town transfer station crew does trash and recyclable pickups over a five-day period each week.

After reviewing the operations, DeMillo said, it looks like those routes can be done in four days. That would leave one day for Dumpster pickups from businesses.

However, the committee recommends a change in the Dumpster pickups, he said.

The town will pick up Dumpsters from businesses that have one Dumpster for trash and one for recyclables and one pickup a week.

Businesses with more than one trash Dumpster and more than one recyclable Dumpster pickup a week would have to hire an outside hauler for that service, DeMillo said.

The committee will also develop a fee structure for light commercial businesses, he said. A businessman said previously he would not mind paying a fee for the pickup and that money could be used to maintain the truck equipped to pick up Dumpsters.

The committee had previously discussed not picking up Dumpsters at all.

Another change would be having mobile home parks and apartment complexes have one Dumpster for trash and another for recyclables.

Cushman said she reviewed meeting minutes of when the transfer station was organized and there was no reference to town-provided Dumpsters and service.

DeMillo asked if selectmen were in agreement with the recommendations and willing to move them forward.

The board took no vote but by consensus agreed to move forward.

Estimates for proposals to get rid of the trash and recyclables are being reviewed, DeMillo said.

He expects the budget for the transfer station to decrease significantly for 2012 due to changes and efficiencies, he said.

“I appreciate the work you have done,” Selectman Amy Gould said of DeMillo and other committee members. “I think it is a great idea.”

“The only way to keep the Dumpster route is to make it self-sufficient,” DeMillo said. “I think for the betterment of the town, we need to be able to keep all those people happy.”

In other business, selectmen voted to go with Fabian Oil-True Plumbing and Heating for $8,898 to buy and install a new boiler for Fire Station No. 2 in the southern end of town. The package includes an outside sensor to monitor the temperature to prevent the furnace from running all the time.

The company was one of six proposals received.

Director of Public Safety Larry White Sr. said instead of getting bids on the boiler, he asked each company to give recommendations on what was needed. The current boiler was installed when the station was just two bays and didn’t change when more bays were added, White said. He also spoke to a number of people, including past fire chiefs, before submitting information to selectmen, White said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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