CANCELED. East Hampton Town Council to Hold Special Meeting

Update:

The East Hampton Town Council special meeting scheduled for Monday night at 6 p.m. has been canceled because of a lack of quorum.

Original story:

After receiving an email calling into question the fees being charged at the transfer station and comparing those fees with other towns, the East Hampton Town Council took the matter up at last Tuesday's meeting.

In the end, the council chose not to make wholesale changes to fees, perhaps leaving that for another day - or council, but it did waive the $10 fee currently being charged for the disposal of leaves by a pickup, trailer van or dump truck.

Now, the council will be taking the matter up again at a special meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. at the town hall.

Evidently, there is a loophole that needs to be discussed and clarified. More specifically, according to council member Barbara Moore, to include that the waiving of fees for leaves does not apply to commercial businesses. The waiver, in general, will not be reversed.

When the item came up at last week's meeting, there was several minutes of discussion about the fees overall.

"I've had complaints myself from our public works personnel as well as from residents about what they refer to as the ridiculous amounts we charge at our transfer station," Council Chair Melissa Engel said. "I think it's time for this council to take a look at that."

Acting Interim Town Manager Anne McKinney said she spoke with Public Works Director Keith Hayden, who told her it is "the pleasure of the council to set the fees." According to McKinney, Hayden also said it's hard to make comparisons with other towns because the transfer stations are not similar.

Several of the council members agreed and the discussion then was narrowed down to waiving the fees for leaves and brush, then finally just leaves.

The vote was 5-1, with Thom Cordeiro the lone opposition. Sue Weintraub was on vacation.

"I think it would be in our best interest to waive it a couple of months, but setting a precedent like that at this point, I'm not sure is a wise thing to do," Cordeiro said. "I have no problem waiving it for October, November."

The motion stated that the town "Will no longer charge for leaves to be dumped at the transfer station."

Vague enough for Monday's meeting.