Demolition materials, mattresses and carpets are among the items which will now carry a fee for disposal at the Jaffrey Transfer Station.
The Select Board unanimously accepted an updated slate of fees following a public hearing Monday after first reviewing them in October 2021. Town Manager Jon Frederick said the changes were “relatively nominal” increases.
Previously, there was no set cost for offloading demolition materials, but going forward, there will be a minimum $5 cost, and after that, residents will be charged by the amount. A quarter-sized pickup load will be charged $10, a half-pickup load $20, a full pickup $30 and a one-ton pickup load $45. The transfer station will no longer be accepting shingles.
There remains no charge for wooden or living room furniture, but box springs and mattresses will now cost $5 for disposal.
The price for television monitors larger than 25 inches has risen from $5 to $10. One-pound propane tanks, which were previously accepted at no cost, will now be $1, though 20-pound tanks remain at the current $5 fee. Toilets also now carry a $5 fee.
Carpets, previously accepted for no cost, now carry a $5 fee for those less than five-by-eight feet, and $10 for larger carpets.
Select Board Chair Frank Sterling said the new fees were necessary due to “the continuing rising cost of maintaining and operating the transfer station.”
“It’s gotten very expensive over the years, and these haven’t changed for a number of years,” Sterling said of the fees. “Actually, I don’t think we’ve changed them in 15 years. We felt it was appropriate to make these changes.”
Frederick noted the town was in its last year of the contract with the disposal company used by the transfer station, and the contract for new rates is anticipated to be “considerably higher.”
Selectman Kevin Chamberlain noted the board had taken an analysis of surrounding towns to make sure the proposed rates were approximately in line with the area, while dealing with the rising costs, and said he found the town was, if anything, more competitive than its neighbors.
The board received no comments from the public on the issue.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.