LIMESTONE, Maine — Residents here voted Wednesday night to add Presque Isle to the Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill.
Currently, Caribou, Limestone and Fort Fairfield are the three members of the Tri-Community Landfill that is located in Fort Fairfield. With Caribou and Limestone’s approval of the new agreement, Fort Fairfield still needs to OK it before the deal can be completed.
Representatives from all four municipalities attended a public hearing at the Limestone Community School auditorium before the vote to update Limestone residents on the plan and answer any questions. Limestone Town Manager Matthew Pineo, Fort Fairfield Town Manager Jim Risner, Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker, and Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett all were present as were several members of the Tri-Community Landfill board.
Tri-Community Landfill Solid Waste Director Mark Draper gave a ten minute presentation about the proposal during the hearing, assuring Limestone residents that there will be no changes in the way they dispose of their garbage and projecting what the future of trash may look like for The County.
Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill Solid Waste Director Mark Draper speaks to Limestone residents about the benefits of allowing Presque Isle to join the organization during a Nov. 29 public hearing.
(Christopher Bouchard)
Draper explained that with Presque Isle added to the interlocal agreement, it would be given two votes on the landfill board, just like Caribou currently has. Limestone and Fort Fairfield would each retain a single vote after the merger.
Under the agreement, in the near future, Presque Isle would shut down its landfill operations and use the facility in Fort Fairfield until it is full. Landfill board members could acquire additional property for landfill purposes if new technologies have not been developed to deal with trash by the time the need arises.
Draper told Limestone residents during the Nov. 29 hearing that they would essentially see no changes and that “residential and commercial haulers are still going to be delivering trash to the same location and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.”
What will change is that the Tri-Community Landfill will be renamed Central Aroostook Waste Management Corporation.
Despite the availability of all those officials, residents asked no questions during the public hearing before just over 20 residents voted to accept the proposal.
Now that Limestone and Caribou have approved the agreement, Fort Fairfield residents need to weigh in. If they also give their blessing, members of the Tri-Community Landfill board of directors will have to unanimously vote in favor of a finalized agreement, which at that point will involve Presque Isle paying Limestone, Caribou, and Fort Fairfield $2 million over the course of eight years.
According to Draper, the payment is equal to the current liability for closing the PI landfill, and will be paid so that Caribou, Limestone and Fort Fairfield don’t incur those costs.
“To put [Presque Isle’s payment] into perspective,” Draper said, “Limestone’s share of [the $2 million] is approximately $234,000 and the town’s annual contribution is about $44,000.”
Looking forward, Draper said he believes the merger could improve The County’s chances of being able to utilize “better alternatives” to landfills in the future.
“We’ve seen other parts of the country and state adopt alternatives,” he said. “Those alternatives are going to go where the volume is, and while I can’t guarantee that they will come to Aroostook, I certainly think that if we work together, there’s a better chance of that happening than if we’re apart.”
