Transfer Station Committee Meeting Minutes 10/07/25

Transfer Station Committee
Draft Minutes of 10/7/25

Members present: Susan Cooper, Ilene Marcus, Pete Wilson (Highway Deparment), Roger MacDonald (TA).  
Others present: Gary Thomas (Transfer Station), Bill Klahn(Transfer Station), Paul DePreter (Transfer Station), Maureen McFarland, Kathleen Frome
Susan Cooper acting as Secretary. 
Meeting was opened at 10:10 am.

The committee approved the minutes of 8/7/25 and 8/15/25 as amended.

The committee revisited the issue of regularizing transfer station (TS) hours so that hours will not change seasonally.  There was general consensus have the TS open year round:
    Wednesdays and Saturdays     8 am – 1 pm
    Sundays            10 am – 4 pm.
It was suggested that these hours begin in January.  Gary, Bill and Paul were not concerned about the few weeks of the year when darkness comes early, particularly as the area if reasonably lit.  The long hours on Sunday are taxing on employees and can make the job hard to fill.  It was also noted that the last hour is often lightly attended.

The committee revisited the issue of bulky item pricing, including a discussion of items which should no longer be accepted.  We will no longer accept:
    Car batteries        which may be taken to auto parts suppliers
    Cell phones        which may be taken to stores that sell phones
    Propane tanks        (research where these can be taken)

After a considerable discussion, a consensus was reached -- see attached sheet below.

Maureen noted that Staples no longer takes phones.  Susan added that most stores that sell phones will accept them, such as AT&T.

Maureen gave a report on the Swap Shop.  She feels that they have, at least temporarily, caught up with the summer rush and have the Swap Shop reasonably organized.  As always, there is some confusion from participants about what items may be donated, and what condition the goods must be in.  People do “dump and run,” but on the whole items flow in and out, and the shop is well used.

Maureen has a list of items they really cannot accept including:
    Hangers
    Rusty items
    Cassette and 8-track tapes
    Dirty or stained clothing or sheets
    Unusable or disreputable cookware
    Laminated furniture or anything that cannot be left in weather/dew

As neither the Swap Shop nor Goodwill can take upholstered furniture, we want to encourage people to use other means of passing them on, such as:
    Google group
    Freecycle
    Shopper’s Guide
    Facebook
    Craigs List (and other similar on line venues)

The Swap Shop staff requests a locked cabinet for their cleaning gear, as customers keep swiping them.  Pete agreed to arrange a locked cabinet for them and to bolt it down to prevent misunderstandings.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:26 am.