Town Counsel has written a statement outlining in legal terms the existence of a settlement and how the funds were allocated, according to Board of Health member Thomas R. McMahon on Jan. 14.
McMahon also cited a 170-slide presentation given by Public Health Director Andrew Petty, which “explains when you dig in an area like that, which in a historical town, you can kind of guess what you’re going to find, but you don’t know what you’re going to find. And then when you do find things, it changes stuff. So that’s half the story; the other half would be that there was a settlement reached eventually, so something clearly went wrong.”
He added the presentation was recorded and is available to view on Marblehead TV’s website.
The settlement statement was written by the Town Counsel out of caution for the settlement. “Quite frankly, I don’t think they wanted to write anything, period, but I harassed them enough to get it. So we do have a letter, he said.
McMahon added, “It’s not going to answer any pressing questions that anyone has, and we’re never going to get those answers because then all of a sudden, you’re writing a check back for $1.2 million.”
The statement written by Town Counsel was not read at the meeting; however, McMahon said he intends to make the letter public at a later date.
Petty said the Transfer Station Project is progressing “nicely” with approximately 30 days left to construction for the season.
Construction crews will return later for line striping and to install a front gate at the facility.
He added components in the facility that have been completed are a truck scale, which is set in its permanent location; the scale pit and lower concrete walls.
Additionally, the site’s office will be sided in the future, and new technology will be added.
The new technology includes a license plate reader, which will verify if patrons of the facility hold permits. These readers have been in use for approximately a year, according to Petty.
The facility will feature a modernized scale, better traffic flow, and improved user communication, Petty said.
Petty also provided an update on the curbside trash collection contract.
He said the town received bids for the contract at 10 a.m. on Jan. 14, which will later be reviewed by him.
“I can get bids and go back to the bidder and say, ‘Hey, I want to talk about this with you. I think you can go lower.’ I have the right to do that,” he said.
After the review process, Petty will present a recommendation to the Board for approval.
He said there are three options for trash pickup. An automated option, which will have an arm to pick up barrels from the curb where all residents have a standardized barrel, an automated option that includes bi-weekly recycling, and an option that operates as the current model for trash pickup does.
“We believe we know the direction we’re heading in. It’s our understanding that what we’re doing today would actually be the most expensive. The reason why it’s the most expensive is that it’s the most number of employees. You have a driver, you have [collectors] on the backside. Going automated or automation, is technically, [it] should be cheaper than all the other options,” Petty said.
