By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — One Naples resident said it seemed wrong and unfair that people voted on a bond to do what was shown to improve the transfer station and bulky waste. Then, the apparent plan got changed.

Why is the bond money that was approved at the ballot box being used differently than it was presented, Naples resident Ed Cash asked?

He was referring to the bond money that citizens in each town (Casco and Naples) okayed for improvements to the Casco-Naples Bulky Waste & Transfer Station. In 2022, the majority of people in the towns of Casco and Naples approved a general obligation bond for improvement to the two facilities.  

Last week, Cash asked his questions about the approval of the bond money and if it is permissible to use it on a redesign.

He spoke during public participation at the beginning of the Naples Select Board meeting. As it turns out, it was a question to which the select board had already sought an answer.

“I have a problem with the transfer station, formerly known as the dump. They changed the design. The whole operation is different. I don’t think that is what we voted to do,” Cash said.

Chair Ted Shane clarified that the residents voted to make changes at the facility, but voters did not select a specific design.

Cash disagreed. “I saw picture of what they were going to do,” he said.

Cash is not the first person to think that, Select Board member Kevin Rogers said.

“This was debated amongst us on the select board. There was a concept. But it was worded has no reference to the visual image,” Rogers said.

“We have $600,000 tied up in something we don’t have a say about,” Cash said.

Chairman Ted Shane responded to Cash’s complaints.

“We do have a say. We elect people to be on the transfer station committee to represent us,” Shane said.

Cash listed the other things in which Naples had no voice.

“We don’t have a say in who they hire and how they hire. We don’t have a say in where our metals go.  We need a organizational rebuild,” he said.

Casco pays more money than Naples, Cash claimed. Maybe, the amount should be reset or reconsidered, he said.

That has already been determined, Selectman Rogers said. Many years ago, the transfer station was set up to see how much household trash each town generated, he said.

“They had the Naples hopper and the Casco hopper, and people threw their trash into the hopper for their town,” Kevin Rogers said.

Cash countered that the U.S. Census was probably used to figure out what percentage each town pays.

“I don’t think we are getting a fair shake. I think we don’t have enough say in the operation. Just ’cause it is in Casco don’t cut the mustard for me,” he said.

Selectman Rogers said the transfer station council is working on better communication with the public.

Naples Town Manager Jason Rogers responded, “Ted [Shane] made a great point when he said the voters choose the people to sit on the council. That council will oversee the operation of the facilities. In our agreement, the Town of Casco is the administrator for personnel. If we [the Town of Naples] wanted to change that arrangement, if we wanted to have the hiring and firing authority, we would have to approach the council.”

He added that Cash’s presence and opinions would be welcome at the transfer station council’s monthly meetings.

Select Board member Stephen LaPointe agreed. He serves on the council.

“What is your specific complaint,” he asked.

Although Cash had already voiced his concerns, he zoned in on the electrical

He said that a three-phase should have been installed and run from Leach Hill Road to Route 11. Instead, all single phases were used, he said. The three-phase would have provided better electrical support to the facility’s generators as well as the inverters connected to the solar farm.   

“You could come to the meetings,” LaPointe said. “It is hard to move forward with those concerns if nobody expresses them at the meetings.”