Government

Southampton sets informational meeting on garbage district

Southampton councilman Brad Bender spoke to residents at the recent FRANCA meeting about garbage pick up. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Southampton councilman Brad Bender spoke to residents at the recent FRANCA meeting about garbage pick up. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

Southampton Town will be holding an informational meeting on its proposal to create a garbage district in the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton hamlets on Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. in the Phillips Avenue Elementary School.

The proposed district was investigated at the request of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association, which feels it may reduce garbage carting costs and reduce illegal dumping.

However it has run into opposition recently, at three community meetings and on a Facebook site opposing the plan.

Opponents say it takes away people’s choice of what garbage carter they can use and say it may end up driving some companies out of business, which would lead to higher prices in the future.

The proposal calls for curbside collections of unrecycled garbage two days per week in up to three 32-gallon receptacles, along with a one-day-per-week collection of mixed recyclables, one-day-a-week collection of bulk items and up to 10 additional days per year of curbside yard waste pickup, according to Southampton Councilman Brad Bender.

The town has mailed a letter announcing the meeting to about 2,100 residential households in the three hamlets that would comprise the district.

The proposed boundaries are the same as that of the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance district, except the district would only service residential property owners, and not commercial property owners or mobile homes.

If the Town Board decides to move forward with the plan, a public vote of residential property owners will be held at some point in the future.

The town bid out the garbage district to get an idea on how much it would cost, and the lowest of the eight bids received came in at around $25 per month, officials have said.

However, Mr. Bender said the town may also have to re-bid the garbage district proposal — if it moves forward at all — because of some defects in the language of the original bid specifications regarding private roads and door-side pickup for handicapped people.