After the second emergency special meeting by the Town Council tonight (Monday) Mayor Adam Salina encouraged residents to use the newly-delivered automated trash cans for refuse pick-up beginning July 6.

Manual collection will continue through July 3. After that, residents may use their new cans for automated pick-up or use their old cans for manual pick-up. Trash-Away has agreed to use two trucks designated for leaf pick-up for the manual pick-up of refuse. The manual pick-up by Trash-Away will be billed on top of the contract the town has with the company for automated collection.

"Our original idea of the roll-off dumpsters was shot down," Mayor Adam Salina said after the meeting. "We were informed that having the dumpsters would have created an illegal transfer station and we would have been fined by the Department of Environmental Protection. Our insurance company also told us they were not willing to insure that idea and then there was still the idea of staffing the dumpsters.

"The police department then weighed in and told us that there were a lot of concerns with traffic hazards at the drop-off spots. At that point I asked Denise McNair to talk to Mr. Lombardo from Trash-Away. He informed us there was a provision in the contract for leaf pick-up and he would be able to handle the manual pick-up for a short time but that he would be billing the town for the additional service.

"There was no way I was going to jeopardize the public safety of this town."

The Council scheduled another special meeting for July 9. At that point, the council will open bids, if any are made, for refuse pick-up.

"Mr. Lombardo has already sent a letter to the town saying that he will not bid on manual pick-up," Salina said. "He was going to sell or do something different with his trucks.

"We would like everyone to try the automatic pick-up but they can choose not to. If they do that, the town will be billed by the hour by Trash-Away."