New transfer station hours infuriate Old Saybrook residents

July 10, 2010 12:00 am • Last Updated: July 10, 2010 3:49 am

By By JENNA CHO Day Staff Writer

Old Saybrook - By the time the transfer station opened at 2 p.m. on Thursday, there was a line of cars backed up to Pat's Kountry Kitchen, about a mile away, Public Works Director Larry Bonin said.

Normally, a three-day weekend wouldn't cause such distress among residents looking to get rid of their trash. But a new budget that went into effect July 1 meant reduced hours at the transfer station - from the 40 hours a week residents were used to, down to 22.

The transfer station is now closed on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Add the Fourth of July holiday to the list and you get trash that residents hadn't been able to dispose of since Saturday. Add to that the fact that Bonin said many residents weren't even aware of the schedule change, and you get mayhem.

First Selectman Michael Pace said the town should have been better prepared for the overlap of the long holiday weekend with the first full week of the transfer station's new hours.

"Unfortunately, we didn't plan that we had the Fourth of July on Monday," Pace said Thursday. "That caused the backup yesterday."

Bonin called all 11 public works and transfer station employees in to help alleviate the congestion on Middlesex Turnpike. Five local police officers were also on hand to enforce a traffic pattern designed to get as many people in and out as possible, Bonin said.

"It just was crazy here," Bonin said.

Friday, the town opened the transfer station an hour earlier than the scheduled 9 a.m. The transfer station will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today instead of the scheduled 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to avoid a repeat of Thursday's jam.

The town will stick to the new transfer station hours for a week or so before determining whether there is a need to go to the Board of Finance to request more funds and longer hours, Bonin said.

But Bonin, who said he got yelled at by "a lot of angry residents," said residents should have argued to keep the transfer station open for longer during the budget process.

"My response to everybody was, 'Where were you during the budget hearings?'" he said. "Some of the people should be ashamed of themselves. What, 900 people voted for the budget? What's our population? We had a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks yesterday."