The Northfield Selectboard hears from Lisa Stewart, general manager of the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management Distric who wants the town voters to continue to use their services. The voters will decide whether Northfield will stay with the Central Vermont or move over to the Mad River district in s special election on April 22 Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News Whether or not the Town should divorce itself from the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD) and join the Mad River Resource Management Alliance (MRRMA), is a question for Australian ballot on Thursday, April 22.

It became a more complex decision, as the per capita fee charged by CVSWMD has dropped by a dollar, Charles Morse told those in attendance at the public hearing Monday night.

He said that the drop brings the fee to $2.10, just 10 cents more than it would be for joining MRRMA. He said that the yearly assessment would drop from about $18,000 to about $12,000.

Lisa Stewart, CMSWMD general manager, said that, the reduction is possible because the district ceased to own and operate the depots and because of cost savings from staff consolidation and reduction.

She also said that should Northfield choose to leave the district, the cost of the organics program for the schools are enrolled in would about triple, to about $5,000. She said that the subsidy for the first year, which one of the schools is involved, would cease. She said that they are current talking with MRRMA regarding the organics program.

Ms. Stewart said that the organics program involves hauling commercial and institutional food scraps to large scale composters. She said that the district also works with schools to ensure that the food scraps to to compost are free of non-compostable materials, such as candy wrappers.

Mr. Morse said that, initially, the district had assessed Northfield with about an $18,000 fee to leave the district as its portion of a long term lease purchase debt.

Ms. Stewart said that the amount Northfield would be assessed is now about $16,000.

She said that the debt is a 7-year lease purchase loan that was used to purchase containers for the depots, computer upgrades, and renovations to the building.

In 2005 the district approved an indebtedness of $580,450 for "capital needs," according to the February 2, 2005, minutes.

According to a transaction summary from LaSalle Bank, the terms would be a 5-year lease for $40,000 to purchase office equipment and a 7-year lease for $532,000 for compactors and containers to be used primarily at the depots. Ms Stewart said that about $40,000 of equipment was sold when the depots closed and that some of that equipment "may have been" purchased with the lease funds. She said that the executive board will make the decision later this month as to whether or not to apply all or some of the funds from the sales to the lease indebtedness. She said that the sales were made with the permission of the lender.

District Treasurer Peter Anthony said that one "crucial difference" between CMSWMD and the Mad River Alliance is that the district has "the force of law" because it is, essentially, a municipality. He said that CVSWMD has the authority to regulate vendors and haulers, MRRMA does not. Mr. Morse said that the Mad River Alliance was deciding that night whether or not they would include Northfield in the alliance, if Northfield voters gave the okay. He said that voters need to consider what is the "most economically feasible" course of action, to stay with CMSWMD or to leave and go to MRRMA.

In a later interview, MRRMA Administrator of Resource Management John Malter said that adding "Northfield and Roxbury" to the alliance is a "three tiered process" that involves a vote by the citizens of those communities voting to join the alliance, a vote by the alliance's managing board approving the additional communities, and a majority of member town selectboards voting to approve the addition. He said it was "a bit of the chicken and the egg."

Mr. Malter said that the usual meeting of the alliance's board had to be postponed by a week to April 19, next Monday, but that "indications are positive" that the towns would be approved. He said that the Towns now in the alliance had also once been a part of CVSWMD.

As a result, voters may have to vote on whether to join the MRRMA or stay with CVSMVD without actually knowing whether the MRRMA has agreed to accept Northfield into their group because the vote is on April 22 and their meeting is not until April 19.

John Cruickshank, editor of the News said that the paper will try to get the word out before the vote but that paper does not come out in the stores until April 21.