BRISTOL — The town’s at-will contract with Casella Waste Systems for hauling away its solid waste is in jeopardy as the result of another rate increase the company has imposed, less than a year after it started charging for recyclables.
Public Works Superintendent Mark Bucklin said the increase for hauling away municipal solid waste is the first the company has imposed in years. Unlike the single-stream recycling, which required special sorting at a distant facility and became unprofitable when the market for most recyclables collapsed, the regular solid waste is hauled to a landfill for disposal.
In order to save money, the town had suspended its recycling operation, which cost double the $65 per ton amount Casella was charging to haul away the regular garbage. Now most recyclables go into into the solid waste container, with only glass and aluminum being set aside.
Casella let the town know in mid-February — well after the budget discussions were complete — that it is planning to boost its hauling fee to $95 per ton.
“It’s just a hauling service,” Bucklin said, “so others might bid.”
Selectmen at their Feb. 21 meeting discussed putting the contract out to bid, and perhaps having town employees do the hauling. The town is reconfiguring its transfer station and was looking at hiring an additional part-time attendant, but the hours of that position could be increased to cover the time to haul away the full bins.
“In the short term, we could probably do it ourselves,” Bucklin said, “but it’s a position we might want to add eventually.”
They also discussed the future separation of trash, which can make recycling profitable for such things as cardboard, although Bucklin noted they would need to stockpile a tractor-trailer load to make that work.
Because they had just received the news ahead of the meeting, the selectmen postponed any decisions, but asked Town Administrator Nik Coates to look into options for the town.
Keno
Selectmen held a public hearing on a petitioned warrant article seeking voters’ permission to allow keno games in Bristol. The only comments came from those associated with LinCross Roast Beef and More, who said they would like to install the game as a boost to business. They noted that some of their customers now travel to Franklin, where keno is allowed.
The state rolled out Keno 603 in late 2017 after the New Hampshire Legislature gave its okay to the game, subject to local approval. Net proceeds from the game go into the Education Trust Fund to provide an incentive for school districts to offer full-day kindergarten. Those districts that do so receive a $1,100 per student stipend to help cover the cost.
Keno 603 is an electronic game similar to bingo. Players can bet from one to 12 numbers from a field of 80, and every keno machine in the state displays 20 electronically selected numbers every five minutes.
Currently, keno is offered in 168 locations in the state, and several more towns, including Gilford and Moultonborough, will have it on their Town Meeting ballots this year. Some communities held off initially for fear that the increased gambling would bring problems with it, but after more than a year, those issues have not appeared in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Legislature already increased the hours of play and it is looking at bills to divert the revenue from kindergarten to state building aid, which has been suspended in recent years. Under that proposal, kindergarten aid would become part of state adequacy aid to local school districts.
Businesses that offer keno have seen an increase in their regular business, as well as receiving a share of keno sales income.
