Photo by Rob Wills, The Northfield News The recycling center in Northfield may be locked up permanently in February unless the Selectboard can find a solution to the management district’s inability to continue to operate. The Town may need to take over the trash and recycling depot and if it doesn’t, it may have to close.

In fact, it may have to close anyway for at least two weeks in February. Whether it will reopen will be up to the Northfield Selectboard.

The Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District’s line of credit with Northfield Savings Bank will not be renewed which effectively will put the current operators out of business according to Donna Casey Barlow, the district’s executiv director.

The management district has been operating the recycling center for the town for some time.

Last month Ms. Barlow told the district’s board of directors that the quasimunicipality was existing “hand to mouth” and that bills were being paid, “when we get paid.” She told the managers that there may not be enough funds to run the depots past mid January 23.

Then last Wednesday, at a specially called meeting of the supervisors of the management district, the board agreed that the sword of Damocles will fall on February 6, extending the closing deadline by two weeks.

Ms. Casey told the meeting that during that two week period, the district would probably go through $40,000 of a $90,000 cash reserve that the district has.

She said that this was because the market for recyclables has been and continues to be in steady decline.

The supervisors had discussed putting their building on Barre Street in Montpelier as collateral for a loan to get some quick cash but they rejected that suggestion.

"Putting the building up as collateral to allow us to overextend ourselves is not a good use of the sole remaining asset that the district has in its possession right now," Ms. Casey said.

She added that the surest way to stem the tide of losses would be to walk away for cost-intensive recycling depots – even if that means putting several committed employees out of work.

“That allows us to squeak by this fiscal year without going broke,” she said, suggesting the district can and will work with member towns to transition services to Earth Waste, or some other private hauler interested in taking over individual depots.

She admitted that the Northfield depot does make money but that is off set by depots in other towns that lose money.

Ms. Casey wanted the district to quit operations by January 23 but the supervisors extended that to February 6 using the reserve fund to run the operations through that date.

Charles Morse who attended the supervisors meeting from Northfield and is a member of the Northfield Selectboard, said that Northfield could bear a portion of any debt that the district runs up and can’t pay. At present, that debt appears to be $5,478 he said.

Mr. Morse said that if Northfield left the district, then that amount would probably have to be paid. He also said that he didn’t really understand how the district could have a reserve and at the same time have a debt that the members might have to pay.

Presently, the Northfield Selectboard has to decide whether to stay in the district or go its own way and go into the trash business, Mr. Morse said.

He said that if the town does take over, the facility might have to be closed for about two weeks which is the time it takes for a trash permit to be processed.

The management district had approached Earth Waste Systems, who is considered the favored bidder, to take over management of the depots but they are only interested in a long term contract and would require substantial upgrades to the recycling facilities as a prerequisite to them assuming operations. For example, they would require 220 power so trash compactors could be installed as well as bathrooms for employees. The company would require a long term contract so they could amortize these improvements over the life of the contrac.

Because Northfield is a profit center, the selectboard may be able to open negotiations with Earth Waste, Mr. Morse said. The question of who would pay for the upgrades has not been discussed. In fact, the selectboard has not yet had an oppor- tunity to address the crisis having learned about the district’s finncial perils only last week, Mr. Morse said.