Riga officials and residents reconsider Mill Seat project

Riga residents and officials will again debate the Mill Seat Landfill, its host agreement package and the impacts on the community at an information meeting planned for October 27.

The westside's most talked about environmental issue of the 1990s, the Mill Seat Landfill and its host community again get the spotlight as Monroe County offer to amend the agreement with the town. Some say the benefits to residents could be lucrative. Others see a darker scenario of heavy traffic to and from the landfill, safety concerns and a facility which will post a "full" sign much sooner than anticipated.

Currently, the 95-acre landfill receives waste from towns across Monroe County and the City of Rochester. That could change, however, if Riga's Town Board agrees to a proposal with the county that would allow the landfill to accept waste from both in-state and out-of-state municipalities.

Supervisor Tim Rowe has cited many benefits if the proposal is passed, including the town receiving a total of $38.3 million in revenue from 2005 to 2017.

"If approved, the additional revenue to the town provided by this change could result in elimination of town taxes, and even a dividend, or tax rebate, to the taxpayers of Riga, as well as free household waste pickup," stated Rowe in a letter to the editor (October 17, 2004).

At the county level, the revenue would play a part in helping to close the county's budget deficit.

While a memorandum of understanding between the town and county was drafted on October 1, the town board has yet to formally approve it.

The proposal has upset some residents who feel the town board and county are going against their initial promise to not accept any outside garbage as stated in the Host Community Agreement which was approved when the landfill was originally opened in 1993. For many residents, the condition was a safeguard to ensuring that property values for residents living near the landfill were protected and that the county's waste needs were being met for the long term.

If the proposal passes, many residents fear that the value of their property will go down, that the size of the landfill will increase, and that Riga would become the next dumping ground for the northeast and Canada.

Ronald Horton, who was Riga's Town Supervisor from 1990 to 2000 and on the town board at the time of the creation of the Host Agreement, opposes the proposal and feels the county is putting its needs ahead of the town. "It is not the responsibility of Riga residents to solve the county's budget deficit," he stated in a letter to the editor printed this week.

Some town officials, such as Councilmember Pam Moore, have also expressed disapproval at the manner in which the issue has been handled, according to published reports. She accuses Rowe and Deputy Supervisor Bob Ottley of leaving other board members out of the loop by holding meetings with Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and other county officials throughout the year, without the input of the full board.

Rowe acknowledged that he and Ottley have engaged in "preliminary" and "exploratory" talks with the county for the past six months, but he explained the town board wanted to have a written proposal before bringing the issue up to the residents (Letter, October 17, 2004).

Rowe also noted in his letter that the town's Landfill Citizens Advisory Board, a special committee formed to serve as a liaison between the county and local community, had prior knowledge of the proposal and had no objection to it provided that some safeguards were included.

A public information meeting will be held on October 27 at Churchville-Chili Intermediate School on Fairbanks Road. In addition to the town board, Brooks and members of the county administration are expected to be there to answer questions.