Riga adopts Host Agreement amendments

The issue of amending the Host Agreement for the Mill Seat Landfill, one that had split the Riga Town Board and the residents, was decided by a divided board on Monday, January 3. The contentious issue gives town officials a say in future expansion of the Mill Seat site.

Riga Town Supervisor Tim Rowe said, "I think accepting the changes to the Host Agreement was the right thing to do and gives us protection in the long term. We now have one of the best host packages in the state."

Rowe said the changes to the Host Agreement could net the town an additional $500,000 to $700,000 in additional revenue. The town's financial benefit from the changes to the agreement could reach $1.8 million annually.

Regardless of the proposed financial incentives, board member Pam Moore has opposed the amending of the agreement citing the need for further studies before the board made a decision as monumental as the one it made. She cast the lone dissenting vote toward the amendment.

"This was obviously not the outcome I wished for," Moore said.

From the beginning of the process, Moore has maintained that the board must do its due diligence.

"This phase is done now," Moore said, following the board vote. "If the landfill will be here for the next 49 years, this community must remain vigilant, stay interested and stay involved."

Environmental concerns have been raised by town residents as well as concerns about present and future impacts to the town. Some say the benefits to residents could be lucrative, but many only see the darker side of any changes to the landfill's host agreement. Heavier traffic to and from the landfill and safety concerns top the issues.

Rowe said there was no need to hire an environmental consultant because that is what the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) does. "They have studied and approved the site," he said.

Currently, the 95-acre landfill receives waste from towns across Monroe County and the City of Rochester. Now that the Riga Town Board has agreed to a proposal with the county, the landfill will accept waste from both in-state and out-of-state municipalities. The "character of the waste" being brought to the landfill is also under scrutiny. Presently, because Monroe County has passed laws that require recycling and special disposal of household hazardous waste, the waste going to Mill Seat is 'higher quality" or "clearer" than the municipal waste of communities that do not have such programs in place.

Waste Management, the company that operates the landfill, presently hauls in 400,000 tons of waste. The changes to the agreement could see the landfill operate at capacity of 776,000 tons a year.

Board member Bob Ottley said the acceptance of the Host Agreement amendments means "the town has negotiated a very well thought out plan."

Ottley said that board members, after listening to the comments put forth by residents, made certain that changes to the agreement incorporated those comments.

"One of the biggest things we negotiated for was the need for water main extensions for North Johnson and Malloch Roads and the county has promised up to $1 million for that water," he said.

Rowe also said the agreement the town has negotiated gives them a say in future expansions to the landfill. Mill Seat currently occupies 95 acres on a 700-acre county owned site in the Town of Riga.

As part of the agreement, litter pick up along Route 490 from Exit 1 to Exit 7 will be accomplished by the county four times a year, Ottley said.

Additionally, town and village residents will be entitled to free trash pick up. "The town will be paying a reduced rate of $160,000 a year to the county for this benefit but there will be no cost to the residents for trash pick-up," Rowe said

Moore had requested the board hire an auditor to determine if the town had been receiving correct payments up until this point. That motion received no second at the meeting. She had also made a motion to hire a team of professionals to come in to advise the board members on the complex details contained in the Host Agreement.

"We need someone to come in and negotiate on the town's behalf," Moore said.

Rowe said he expects that the town's 2006 budget will reflect no taxes being levied to taxpayers as a result of the anticipated changes at Mill Seat. "I think we will be running a substantial surplus in revenues," he said. "I want to see the town create a reserve fund to offset taxes in the future."

Rowe also wants to see the revenues be put toward creating a townwide water district.