GREENVILLE- Recycling participation by the public is up in Greenville, which is good, but the higher volume - perhaps as much as double- is causing problems at the town-operated facility in the Moosehead Industrial Park. Changes need to be made, according to Town Manager John Simko, in a report to the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting last week.

A mandatory recycling ordinance was passed at the June annual town meeting and went into effect last month.

But limited space and sheer mass of material overwhelms the town's two recycling employees, Simko said, recommending several physical changes he hopes will alleviate some of the workload.

Simple chicken-wire bins instead of bags for plastics (milk containers, etc.) collection, a loading table for the baler to eliminate lifting and a scoop for the forklift are all in the works and should reduce some of the labor, Simko said.

Another problem is glass collection, which is time consuming and dangerous while bringing very little return. Currently stored as broken shards in barrels, glass could be contained in an outside Dumpster® filled by the public, he said.

"We may need more labor," Simko told the selectmen, "but, as you know, there is no money for that." One option may be to eliminate outside communities such as Lily Bay and the unorganized townships to bring down the volume, he said. A second option may be to increase fees if the town has to add personnel, he said.

Selectmen instructed the manager to follow through with his recommendations and to report on the results. No action was taken at this time.

C.N. Brown of South Paris, which operates the CITGO gas station in Greenville, has been awarded the contract to provide fuel oil to the town, the Greenville schools, and the Shaw Public Library, for 2002-03. The bid, at 81.4 cents per gallon, was the lowest submitted, according to figures prepared by the town manager. R.H. Foster was awarded the contract for propane, with a bid of 94.37 cents per gallon. Savings over last year should exceed 5,000, Simko said, assuming usage does not exceed the estimated amounts.

The fuel system at the Greenville Municipal Airport was temporarily shut down last week to make certain safety improvements, Simko reported to the board. Operated by Folsom¹s Air Service, the system was sited for the safety improvements by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT), Office of Passenger Transportation. The improvements, necessary but largely minor, according to the manager, were to complete by last Friday. MDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration scheduled a re-inspection of the system for Aug. 23.

A town-owned lot on the corner of Oliver Road and Pritham Avenue will be offered for sale by competitive bid. A market assessment of the lot will be obtained and the parcel will be offered with a minimum bid stipulated, selectmen agreed. An unofficial valuation for the lot is $35,000, according to the town manager.

Selectmen signed the deed for lot #3-22 in the Greenville Industrial Park for purchase by Scott Harding, the sale of which was approved at the Aug. 7 meeting of the board.

Central Maine Power has completed its estimate of cost to energize the poles on Cota Drive, and the number is $5,191.18, or $648.90 per affected lot, according to the town manager. Current owners will be billed for the amount and the energizing cost will be tacked onto the price of the lots that remain for sale, Simko explained. Individual access to the power will be an additional cost to the lot owner, he added.

An executive session to discuss acquisition of a new site for the proposed wood composites incubator center was called at the end of the meeting. No action was taken following the session.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be held at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4.

"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Moosehead Messenger and is used here with permission."