Costs, plans laid out for transfer station

SALISBURY — The combined finance boards of Salisbury and Sharon met with the committee responsible for building the new transfer station at Salisbury Town Hall on Thursday, July 16, for the first of what will be a lengthy series of meetings about the new facility — and the cost.

Kevin Grindle of Anchor Engineering took the audience through the plans.

The bottom line for building the new transfer station is $3.7 million.

Bill Braislin of the Transfer Station Building Committee said the design had to take into account regulations from state and federal agencies, and had to be flexible enough to be able to adjust to additional regulatory changes in the future.

“Our goal is to do a quality job, to do it once and do it right, and to build a facility we’ll all be proud of,” he said.

“We should be able to buy ourselves trash independence for years and years and years to come.”

Grindle went through the plan in some detail. Access is from Route 44 to Dimond Road. The station is 500 to 600 feet from the highway. It is screened from the neighbors, in part by existing trees and vegetation.

There is a two-lane, paved entry road and a gate.

Once inside, residential and commercial traffic will be separated. The station is designed to minimize the amount of backing up that residential vehicles will have to do. There are dedicated parking places for residents, and carts if trash or recyclables are too heavy. (Staff will also be available to assist residents.)

The containers for recyclables and household trash (“hoppers”) will be under a canopy, to minimize the amount of rain that gets in them (water increases the the weight of the trash, which the towns pay to dispose of by the pound). All storm water on site will be treated and disposed of off-site.

There will be a main building, made of steel, that will house offices, maintenance facilities and the Swap Shop.

There will be a guard shack, security gate and security fence.

The budget breaks down, roughly as this: $1 million for site preparation and construction; $2 million for materials and equipment; $700,000 for miscellaneous expenses; a 10 percent contingency.

Grindle said the figures were based on an average of three non-binding bids and Anchor’s own projections.

First Selectman Curtis Rand of Salisbury noted that both Salisbury and Sharon have applied for $500,000 state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grants. The grant winners have not been announced, but if either or both towns are turned down this year they can apply again next year.

Grindle said there are some opportunities for cost savings within the broad outlines of the plan, but the committee, finance board members and public will have to decide between immediate savings and increased maintenance costs down the road.