LOCAL LANDFILL ISSUE STILL CONTINUES

SCRANTON TIMES

Richard Maopolski, 16, of Old Forge, addresses Old Forge Borough Council on Sunday, expressing his concerns on the proposed expansion of Alliance Landfill in neighboring Taylor. JASON FARMER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

OLD FORGE — The crowd in the high school auditorium was sparse and more subdued, but opinions were strong.

Only about 100 people attended the second part of a hearing Sunday evening on Alliance Sanitary Landfill’s proposed agreement to give the borough money and services worth up to $42 million in exchange for the borough not opposing the landfill’s expansion plans.

More than 700 people jammed the auditorium for the first part of the hearing on March 19.

Of the dozen people who spoke Sunday night, most opposed the pact, despite the pot of money and a guarantee the landfill would close when the expanded section is used up in about 20 years.

Opponents don’t want the state Department of Environmental Protection to grant the 87.6-acre expansion. The landfill is in Taylor and Ransom Township but very close to the Old Forge boundary.

Some were concerned about health.

High school student Richard Maopolski, 16, said he would love to live in the borough for years to come, but he was concerned about the health effects of the landfill.

“You’re selling your soul for a couple hundred dollars,” he told council members to applause from the crowd. “I don’t think my life’s worth that.”

Joan Houliston, who lives in the borough’s Austin Heights section, close to the landfill, questioned why the area had to take in more trash from New York and New Jersey.

“We don’t want it,” she said, also drawing applause and shouts of approval.

But earlier, Fiore Mattei said if questions are raised about the landfill, DEP would not grant the expansion. If the borough takes the money and the expansion is allowed, he continued, the borough would have a guarantee the landfill would close. But if it doesn’t take the money and the expansion is allowed, Old Forge would lose both the money and the guaranteed closure.

Robert Hughes and John Nordell said they supported a vote by the people through a binding referendum. Nonbinding referendums are not allowed under state law.

Council President Anthony Pero said after the hearing borough officials would have to look into that possibility.

Brian Rinaldi presented a petition with 350 signatures of people opposed to the agreement. They are in addition to the 1,000 names on a petition presented to council at its meeting Tuesday night.

Granting the expansion could extend the landfill’s life by 16 to 19 years, then it would close, the borough’s environmental attorney David Gromelski said at the initial hearing. Residents feel it could be longer.

Under the prospective deal, the borough would be paid $750,000 within 30 days of its signing the agreement, with another $400,000 coming a month after the expansion plan is approved by DEP. From that point, the borough would receive a fee for each ton of waste disposed at the site, as well as free trash collection and disposal for residents.

Over the course of 20 years, the agreement would result in about $37 million in monetary payments, averaging about $1.85 million a year.

The borough’s current annual budget is $2.2 million. It current real estate tax rate is 16.5 mills, which means someone owning a home assessed at $20,000 pays $330 a year.

Each mill of property tax brings in $46,000 in revenue. So the borough’s tax rate would have to be about 41 mills to generate $1/85 million.

Also under the agreement, the savings on garbage hauling would top about $5.4 million. Alliance would also sell a nearby 94-acre piece of land to the borough for $1 upon final approval of the expansion.

Alliance spokesman John Hambrose said after the hearing the agreement also would mean an additional 240 acres in Taylor and Ransom Township would never be used for the landfill.

“I’m glad some of the speakers saw this as a victory for the borough in that this expansion of the landfill is the last expansion and there will never be another landfill,” Mr. Hambrose said.

Only one person on the list of 20 who didn’t get to speak March 19 showed up Sunday night. The remainder didn’t attend or did not come forward when their names were called.