Dept. of Administrative Services inherits Torrington Transfer Station

Dept. of Administrative Services inherits Torrington Transfer Station

USA Waste & Recycling, based in Winsted, is seeking to purchase the Torrington Transfer Station for a price of $3.25 million.

Jennifer Almquist

TORRINGTON — Effective July 1, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services became the entity overseeing municipal waste service agreements in the Northwest Corner.

The shift occurred after the MIRA Dissolution Authority Board of Directors was unable to reach a consensus on what to do with the Torrington Transfer Station prior to June 30. The two apparent choices were to sell the facility to USA Waste & Recycling for $3.25 million, or to convey the property and permit to the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority, founded by the City of Torrington.

MIRA-DA had previously, at different times, accepted both proposals.

An agreement was reached in February 2025 for a regional waste authority to take over the Transfer Station. Most Northwest Corner towns expressed interest in joining. The City of Torrington worked with the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to establish the NRRA, holding a public hearing May 19 and concluding the process in early June.

USA Waste & Recycling’s purchase offer was conditionally accepted May 14, days before the NRRA could be established. Before the sale went through, the state intervened by passing an amendment to the Intervenor Bill (HB 7287) requiring the Torrington Transfer Station operating permit be transferred to the public authority.

MIRA-DA’s June meeting centered around how to proceed. The vast majority of discussion took place in executive session, which was recessed and reconvened over several days.

On June 26, Chairman Bert Hunter said, “After considerable deliberations, there is not sufficient support to pursue either the sale to a private party as proposed by USA Waste, a private option, or the public option as proposed by Northwest Hills COG plus the City of Torrington. So, since we cannot support either path, the contracts associated with the Torrington Transfer Station and the transfer station property will by law transfer to the Department of Administrative Services.”

The law cited here is the Solid Waste Management Services Act - Section 22a-284e, passed in 2024, which names DAS as the successor to MIRA-DA effective July 1, 2025.

MIRA-DA went on to make a motion formally recommending DAS “competitively bid the sale of the Torrington Transfer Station land and operations by September 30th, 2025, or at their earliest practicable opportunity.”

Towns in the Northwest Corner continue to mull the option of joining NRRA. Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway explained a town ordinance must be passed to secure membership.

“It’s still a ways away, but that’s where things are going,” Ridgway said at a selectmen’s meeting July 1.

As of early July, Torrington remained the sole municipal member of the Authority. Northwest Hills COG staff encouraged interested towns to “start the process” of joining the NRRA.

Latest News

Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker

WINSTED — Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker, of Monroe, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2025, at the age of 77. Born on Jan. 18, 1948, in Winsted, Connecticut to Gilbert and Alta (Bierce) Schoonmaker, Gil spent four decades enjoying life on Highland Lake before settling in Monroe.

He is lovingly survived by his wife of 56 years, Sally (Gustafson) Schoonmaker, and his two daughters, Lynn Sindland and her husband Lee of Lead Hill, Arkansas, and Deb Pikiell and her husband Tim of Bristol, Connecticut. Gil was a proud grandfather to Ozzie, Tommy, Betsy, Katie, George, Lucy, Maddie, Joey, and Julia, and he cherished his time with his eight great-grandchildren. Gilbert leaves behind his siblings Ann, Gary, Gail, Jan, and Tim.

Keep ReadingShow less
Books and bites beckon at the upcoming Sharon Summer Book Signing

Author and cartoonist Peter Steiner signed books at Sharon Summer Book Signing last summer.

Photo by Stephanie Stanton

The 27th annual Sharon Summer Book Signing at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon will be held Friday, Aug. 1, from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 3, at noon.

Friday’s festivities will honor libraries and the power of the written word. In attendance will be 29 locally and nationally recognized authors whose books will be for sale. With a wide array of genres including historical fiction, satire, thrillers, young adult and non-fiction, there will be something for every reader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Voices from Ukraine to America come to Stissing Center July 27

Ukraine Emergency Fundraiser at The Stissing Center in 2022 raised over $120,000 for Sunflower of Peace.

Photo by Michael Churton

The spirit of Ukraine will be on display at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Sunday, July 27. Beginning at 5 p.m., the “Words to America from Ukraine” fundraiser is set to showcase the simultaneous beauty of Ukrainian culture and the war-time turmoil it faces, all the while fundraising in support of Ukrainian freedom.

“Words to America from Ukraine” aims to remind and spread awareness for the suffering that often gets forgotten by those who live in comfortable worlds, explained Leevi Ernits, an organizer for the event. “We are trying to make an attempt to remind people that we are human, and we are connected with human values,” she said. “With very few words, poetry can express very deep values.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Grumbling Gryphons’ set to celebrate 45th anniversary with gala and summer theater camp

Celebrating its 45th year, the Grumbling Gryphons will perform at HVRHS Friday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m.

Photo provided

The Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater is preparing to celebrate its 45th year — not with fanfare, but with feathers, fabric, myth, chant, and a gala finale bursting with young performers and seasoned artists alike.

The Gryphons’ 2025 Summer Theater Arts Camp begins July 28 and culminates in a one-night-only performance gala at Housatonic Valley Regional High School on Friday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. Founder, playwright, and artistic director, Leslie Elias has been weaving together the worlds of myth, movement and theater for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less