Hooksett Transfer Station Advisory Board Meeting - November 25, 2025
Hooksett Transfer Station Advisory Board Meeting - November 25, 2025
The Hooksett Transfer Station Advisory Board met on November 25, 2025, to discuss current recycling rates, equipment updates, a proposed bond for a new scale house and retaining wall, a solar project update, and other operational matters. The board voted to recommend a $1,325,840 bond warrant article to the Town Council, with funding from tipping fees and no tax impact.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The board approved the minutes from September 23, 2025, with a motion and second, all in favor.
Discussion Items
- Current Rates and Recycling: Sean Dumont presented current rates: trash $98.10 per ton, furniture management surcharge $194, demo $119 per ton, electronics variable, freon $8 per unit, lithium-ion batteries $1.10–$1.50 per pound, nickel-cadmium and alkaline $0.78 per pound (alkaline can go in trash). Cardboard dropped to $35 per ton. Metal $102–$131.75 per ton, glass $50 per ton. Plastic is becoming an issue with difficulty finding buyers; currently paid $0.025 per pound through New Hampshire Recycles (formerly NRRA).
- Equipment Update: A trailer sold on GovDeals for $9,200, but the board's net take was approximately $90 (unclear from discussion). A new baler was purchased; a $5,000 grant from New Hampshire the Beautiful was received for recycling equipment.
- New Building Bond Considerations: Sean Dumont presented a proposal for a 20-year bond to fund a new scale house and retaining wall. The building is the original, has mold, inadequate facilities (women's room is a closet with a toilet, dishes washed in men's room), and floods. The wall for loading demo and furniture is failing and poses a fall hazard. The proposed bond amount is $1,325,840 (or a lower $1.25 million option). The bond would be paid from the special revenue account (tipping fees) with no tax impact. The board discussed the need for wiggle room and the risks of a lower amount if costs exceed. Average annual payment from the disposal fund is $161,000, with the bond payment ~$4,000 per year.
- Solar Project Update: The solar project is moving forward after a roadblock. Interconnection cost was $600,000, but investors agreed to proceed. The lease is five years with option to purchase, allowing green credits of about $2,000–$2,500 per month.
- Mowing and Maintenance: Discussion on mowing the solar field; a remote-control Skag mower was tested. It was noted that the requirement to mow at a foot height may be a past practice; no official confirmation was found.
- Leave Pickup: The highway department assists with leaf pickup. Sean noted that bags were left on Benton Road despite woods behind houses, expressing frustration.
- Saturday Hours and Holiday Schedule: The board discussed challenges with Saturday openings due to union contract; holidays on Fridays or Mondars result in closed Saturdays. Two holidays in the next year may cause three consecutive closed Saturdays. E-alerts and Facebook are used to notify residents. A QR code for e-alert signup was requested.
Key Outcomes
- Bond Recommendation: A motion was made to recommend a warrant article to the Town Council for a bond of $1,325,840 for a new scale house and retaining wall. The motion passed unanimously (all in favor). The board decided to go with the higher amount to provide contingency.
- E-Alert QR Code: The board agreed to create a QR code to link residents to e-alert signups, to be posted at the transfer station and on paperwork.
- Future Agenda: The board will continue to monitor plastic recycling markets, schedule Saturday closures, and plan for mowing the solar field.
No public comments were received during the meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Yep. Good for them. Have at it. Yeah. Wasn't a bad trailer. What's the square foot cost before? Oh, that's that's the building. Before we start, do you have a um last month? You had a great printout of everything in a big letters was how much money we got. Yeah, so we were just gonna wait till do it like every quarter, every quarter. So you can see. I mean, oh yeah, Richard Barron. Sorry. John J. Otis. Ray Barney. Sean Dumont. Jeff Nyan. Okay, we need uh pledge allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Under God, indivisible with the liberty and justice for all. Thank you. It's on it just facing the wrong way. Okay. Make a motion approve the minutes of September twenty-third. I'll second it. All in favor? I see. That's what we're gonna do every other month. Well, this is just for our current rates and everything. Oh, okay. Uh so trash went up. So that's the ninety-eight ten per ton. Uh furniture. Now we have that new uh management surcharge based on the total weight. So it's a hundred and ninety-four. Um demo, one nineteen per ton. And then they're getting us now for environmental and fuel charges. Uh electronics is all over the place. It's, you know, it just depends on how many TVs, VCRs, those kind of items we get. Laptops, computers. Uh freeon is still uh eight dollars per unit um to have it all um all the free on sucked out of it. Um lithium ion batteries, uh, dollar ten, a dollar fifty per pound. Again, they just bring us buckets, we fill them up, and when they're full, we call them and they come get them. Uh nickel caddium dry is uh seventy-eight cents per pound. Alkaline, um seventy-eight uh seventy-eight cents per pound, but alkaline is actually just considered trash, so we can just throw those away. Yeah, do you have to have someone go through and sort them? Yeah, yeah. So we we've been trying to get a lot of our residents that are just like recycling. You have your heavy hitters that are always bringing the same kind of items.
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