03/25/2025 TSC Minutes

MINUTES OF THE MARCH 25, 2025

MEETING OF THE TRANSFER STATION COMMITTEE

The meeting convened at 6:30 PM at the Library, with Chris Jensen, Barry Zitser, Nancy Strand, Andrea Bryant and Julie Seely present.  A member of the public, Allegra Wright, was also present.

There was no public input.

Nancy noted that as the Select Board liaison she has the right to vote on matters before the Committee.

Nancy updated the Committee on potential grants for Bethlehem’s future transfer station.  Senator Shaheen has notified the community that the $750,000 Congressionally designated fund she previously obtained for the transfer station has still not been included in the budget of the new federal Congress and Administration. Barry commented that we should not count on this grant being restored in the near future, despite Senator Shaheen’s magnificent efforts to continue her fight for restoration.

The Committee reviewed Nancy’s Google document Cost Spreadsheet for revised and reduced costs for the future transfer station. Barry then moved that the Transfer Station Committee request the Select Board to authorize the Transfer Station Committee to consult with Aries as to the cost and timetable to make some design and equipment changes for the new proposed transfer station. The motion was seconded and unanimously adopted.

The draft minutes of the February meeting of the Committee were approved. Although the draft minutes had previously noted that, at the time of the meeting, the Committee thought that a bonding warrant had to be approved by a 60% vote, it has since been determined that approval would have to meet a two-thirds threshold. This two-thirds threshold has been included in these March minutes.

There will be a meeting of the Village District on April 8^th at 5:30 PM at the Water Treatment plant.  Nancy will attend the meeting to ask whether the Village District might be amenable to providing curbside pick-up of municipal solid waste for its members, at Village District cost, after the NCES landfill closes.  The Village District provided curbside pick-up for a time when the Town had responsibility for solid waste management, prior to the settlement agreements with the Casella organization.

Barry has prepared some draft ideas for the next edition of Just Be Greener, focused on 50 ways to reduce unnecessary plastic usage.  Nancy has not had a chance to review his draft for final editing.

Regarding other business, the vendor for Bethlehem’s used clothing bin, Apparel Impact, sent out a report that listed Bethlehem’s 2024 tonnage as 19.460 tons. Barry noted that since Bethlehem became one of the first towns to put an Apparel bin in its Village Center, many other surrounding towns and businesses have followed suit. He speculated that Bethlehem residents likely also contribute tonnage to these neighboring bins, such as the ones located at the Littleton Co-op or near the Shaw’s/Walmart shopping center.

Julie noted that there is a challenge to Dalton’s recent switchback to using the NCES landfill instead of the Mt. Carberry landfill for solid waste disposal. Jon Swan’s attorney wrote a letter to the Town of Dalton complaining about the decision to go back to NCES landfill as possibly violating RSA 149m17 Section IV. We should explore this issue to determine whether there is a need to have warrant approving for our future facility to use the Mt. Carberry facility.

After reviewing the Mission Statement of the Committee, there was a consensus that the Committee does not have the authority to write an individual letter to the New Hampshire legislature in opposition to the crypto mining bill. The opposition should come from the Select Board, which could also mention that the Committee is in accordance.

The next meeting date was set for April 30^th at 6PM.

The meeting adjourned at 7:39 PM.