By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — On Tuesday night, some Casco residents claimed they did not want to adopt the same policy as Naples for who is entitled to bulky waste coupons.

The discussion took place during the Casco Select Board meeting. The same topic came up last month. It was the subject of a discussion during the most recent Casco-Naples Bulky Waste and Transfer Station Council meeting.

Tuan Nguyen spoke as member of the council and as a taxpaying resident.

Currently, Naples hands out bulky waste coupons (2,000 pounds per household) to people who own undeveloped lots. Casco does not.

In fact, Casco does not distribute bulky waste coupons to people who live in mobile home parks or at seasonal sites — according to the town’s policy. 

“I think Casco is doing it the right way. It is a privilege for residents. If we give everyone who owns a strip of grass, the ability to throw away 2000 pounds of bulky waste, our taxes will go up,” Nguyen said.  “We have high taxes. This is one of the privileges that residents pay for.”

Select board member Scott Avery agreed. He was worried that if the policy was changed to include the owners of undeveloped uninhabited lots, then people from other states or other towns would be dumping 2,000 pounds of bulky waste from their primary residences.

“Getting rid of trash is expensive in other communities,” Nguyen stated.

“If you own an unimproved lot, you don’t get to send your kids to school here. You don’t get to vote here. You should get to free access to the bulky waste facility,” he said.

“I am very strong on it: It should be for residents and not everyone who owns a piece of dirt,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to pay for someone to throw away their trash.”

During the meeting, a few people mentioned the desire to see the data of how much the Town of Casco is saving by not including the owners of undeveloped land in the list of bulky waste coupon recipients.

There was some discussion about whether or not the two towns need identical policies regarding bulky waste coupons.

“We could beat this up all night. We should be doing everything the same. It is a hodge-podge. It needs to all be under one blanket,” Select board member Avery said.

Nguyen spoke about the possible legal aspect of differing policies. He was unable to find the exact answer within the wording of the two-town agreement.

“The other piece in the packet was from legal. I’m not sure where legal got their interpretation that Casco needs to move toward Naples’ policy,” he said. “I believe it is open to each town. The transfer station agreement is who pays what. Casco makes it rules and people approve those at town meeting and Naples does the same.”

The agreement does not outline which residents are allowed to use the facility, he said. 

Select board Grant Plummer said it was his understanding, the authority to make that decision lies with the transfer station council and not the select board.