Special Town Meeting scheduled for December
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - A special Town Meeting has been scheduled for Monday Dec. 10 to allow Town Manager Daniel Morgado the freedom to enter into a Waste Disposal and Landfill Operation Agreement that extends beyond the limits previously set by Town Meeting members.

The town's two current 20-year concurrent contracts with Wheelabrator Millbury Inc. for waste disposal and landfill operations expire Monday Dec. 31.

Town Meeting had voted in 2005 to allow Morgado to extend its contracts with Wheelabrator for up to 20 years; however Morgado is hoping to extend that time frame by five to 15 years to enable him to combine the contracts into a single disposal and landfill operation agreement.

By combining the two contracts into one, Morgado will be able to secure a slightly less than market rate on waste disposal, and will give the town more options once the new 20-year contract is up.

In a presentation before the Board of Selectmen Nov. 5, Morgado said the town has had a very successful relationship with Wheelabrator Millbury Inc. and he is hoping to expand on that success over the next several decades. Currently, Wheelabrator incinerates local towns' trash and pays Shrewsbury to accept the ash in its landfill.

"Operation of the landfill has been a substantial revenue source for the town [Shrewsbury] over the last 20 years," Morgado said. "It's raised $10.5 million since 1999 alone, with most of it going into the general fund and benefiting all town departments."

Under the new agreement, Morgado said the town could expect to see the revenue generated by the landfill just about double to $1.2 million per year as early as 2009 due to an expansion of solid waste items that can be accepted at the site.

According to a memo Morgado sent to town officials regarding the special Town Meeting request, the landfill currently allows for ash and other associated byproducts of combustion of solid waste and coal as well as a small amount of street sweepings, catch basin and grit screen cleanings.

New regulations now allow for a much broader list of acceptable items; however, items that create odor or attract vermin will still be prohibited.

"In no instance will the expansion of acceptable items create any health items for the community or create any negative environmental impact," Morgado said.

The special Town Meeting Warrant will also ask Town Meeting members to accept funds from the commonwealth that will be transferred to the Highway Department, and authorization for the town to sell former Fire Station #3, located at 122 Hartford Turnpike.

The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to vote on the draft warrant at their meeting Monday Nov. 19. The warrant was scheduled to go before the Finance Committee at their meeting Nov. 6.

The special Town Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday Dec.10 in the Oak Middle School Auditorium.