County recycling program stays intact
By Donna Comella  

A roar of applause filled the Supervisors' Chambers last night when over 120 people heard the vote. Wayne County legislators rejected the private bids to take over the current recycling program run by the Western Finger Lakes Solid Waste Management Authority (WFLSWMA). Voting against the rejection were two supervisors: Bill Hammond (Macedon) and Bob Plant (Walworth).

It had been Hammond who had initially proposed that the county privatize the operation and perhaps save some money. The county currently funds the Authority to the tune of about $800,000. Both Waste Management and Casella Waste Management offered bids to pick up the recyclables. The lower of the two bids came from Casella, which operates a recycling center in Ontario County.

Opponents of the privatization pointed out, however, that the savings would be less than a dollar per person, and that certainly the costs would rise.

Over 20 people were allowed to speak at the meeting. (Evening meetings were approved by the board last month, and will occasionally replace the usual 9 a.m. meetings.) Board Chairman Jim Hoffman (Williamson) asked those present to sign in and they would each be allowed two minutes to address the supervisors. (After that announcement, he good-humoredly, placed a whistle around his neck and smiled.)

Several people had already been placed on the agenda to speak, and others quickly signed in to do the same. Citizens who urged supervisors to stay with the Authority outnumbered those who favored privatization.

Macedon business owner Jim Beckenbach said he thought it unfair that businesses pay for the service through property taxes, and yet receive no services. Later, Hammond agreed with him, pointing out that someone who owns a $200,000 home shouldn't pay more for the same service received at a $100,000 home.

Bill Flick of West Walworth had similar comments, and said that recycling should be a separate charge on tax bills.

Mary Joslyn, of Galen, however, called Casella's record 'deplorable' and told supervisors that to abandon a program that works would just be 'ignorant.' Michele Fabrizio of Galen, also warned the board against accepting Casella's bid. 'When you lay down with dogs, you might get up with fleas.'

Many of the 18 employees of the Authority's recycling program were present and Bruce Wallace of Sodus spoke on behalf of them. Chairman of the Authority Board, former Walworth Supervisor Frank Guelli, was also on hand to champion the cause. Guelli called Authority Director Sharon Lilla, who is also the county's Planning Director, 'the best recycling coordinator in the country.' He also said spoken and printed rumors about her were 'contemptible.'

Arcadia Supervisor Joe DeSanto addressed those gathered and made reference to a report that American Flags had been found in a Casella landfill. He asked people to close their eyes and imagine a coffin draped with a flag; the presentation of that flag to a wife, mother or child; airplanes soaring into the Twin Towers. DeSanto wondered aloud about doing business with a company that has no respect for the American Flag.

And so it went. Speakers that ranged from four small girls from Sodus, to a Wolcott member of The Red Hat Society. But before a vote, Sodus Supervisor Steve LeRoy asked for a five minute recess. Chairman Hoffman granted it. The crowd dispersed from the Chambers when the bids were rejected.

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