GEORGETOWN – The SelectBoard, looking for “a tiny bit of leverage” over the G. Mello Disposal Corp., is gathering questions from its members to ask the company about its transition from its East Main Street facility to the huge trash transfer station under construction.
The SelectBoard did not negotiate a host agreement prior to Mello winning approval from three boards – the Planning Board, the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission. It is hoping that it may have some “leverage” over Mello through its long-standing lease of town property for the current transfer station on Rte. 133.
The marijuana retail shops and farms were required to pay a host fee.
Last week, the board asked Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco to draft a letter to Mello asking several questions, including whether it would be willing to pay a host fee or give residents and the town itself a break on fees for picking up trash.
The Building Inspector issued Mello building permits two weeks ago to build what could grow into a 550-ton transfer station on Carleton Lane. It broke ground last fall and with warmer weather has begun construction on the plant that is expected to be completed in late summer or fall.
The transfer station collects trash from residential and commercial sites in Georgetown and other North Shore cities and transfers the trash, including construction waste, to large trucks for removal to incinerators elsewhere. Opponents of the facility argue that the new plant will harm residents’ quality of life with increased traffic, odors and rodents.
The town boards ordered Mello to rebuild Carleton Drive and have a police detail for the first months at the corner of East Main Street and Carleton Drive.
Mello, under orders from the state Department of Health, is closing the current station and will transfer operations to the larger transfer station on Carleton Drive this fall. The town’s Board of Health limited Mello to 150-tons for the first two years. It can grow the tonnage beginning in the third year to 550 tons by the fifth year.
With the town facing a $6 million override, Selectman Doug Dawes warned the board not to look at Mello “as a cash cow.”
“He can say no to anything,” Selectman Rob Hoover said.
The planning board considered requiring Mello to pay a surcharge for non-Georgetown residents. It also wanted to have Mello plant trees along I-95 to block the view of the new transfer station.
The SelectBoard was skeptical that Mello would agree to a reduced fee for lowering the pickup fee charged to residents. Estimates were that giving residents free pickup would cost Mello $1 million a year. ♦
