Cochecton transfer station open for 2017

Posted 8/21/12

MONTICELLO, NY — At a meeting of the Sullivan County Public Works Committee on November 10, legislator Joe Perrello made a point of saying that stories that have been circulating alleging that the …

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Cochecton transfer station open for 2017

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MONTICELLO, NY — At a meeting of the Sullivan County Public Works Committee on November 10, legislator Joe Perrello made a point of saying that stories that have been circulating alleging that the county legislature will no longer continue to operate the transfer station in the Town of Cochecton were not true. He said it was always the intention that the county would keep the Interim Western Sullivan Transfer Station facility open.

That has been guaranteed at least through 2017. The county has been paying rent to the town in the amount of $15,000 per year and for plowing services, but Perrello and other legislators sought to negotiate a better rate.

Town of Cochecton Supervisor Gary Maas said he offered $10,000 as a compromise and the county accepted that through the end of 2017, but it’s not clear what will happen after that. Maas says he believes the county wants to pay nothing after that but, he said, “That’s not going to happen.”

The county has been operating the transfer station at least since 1996. Much earlier it was a town dump, which was eventually taken over by the county. There was a suggestion by Perrello that perhaps the transfer station could be taken over by the town, with the county continuing to haul away the trash, as is the case with the Town of Bethel Transfer Station.

But only residents who live in the town are allowed to use the Bethel transfer station. The transfer station in Cochecton is used by people in several other towns, and also by some residents from across the river in Pennsylvania.

A complicating factor in this is that there are no scales at the Cochecton transfer station, and therefore that station will no longer be able to accept construction and demolition (C&D) debris after the first of the year, which decreases the revenue from the facility.

Ed McAndrew, commissioner of the Division of Public Works, has estimated that the county spends about $100,000 per year to operate the facility, but he has also said that’s probably also true of the transfer stations in Rockland, Highland, Mamakating and Ferndale.

As the name suggests the Interim Western Sullivan Transfer Station was supposed to be a temporary facility and the county had planned to build a new one on State Route 52A west of the Stone Arch Bridge, but that facility never materialized.

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